NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – A North Myrtle Beach woman has filed a report with the SCDNR after a large black bear was captured on her security cameras roaming her backyard.
Lori White, who lives in the Park Pointe neighborhood, stepped outside to let her dogs out when she noticed the damage.
“I got up in the morning, Sunday morning, to let the dogs out like I do every morning, and I looked over at the gate, and it was just halfway lying on the ground,” White said. “I looked over to where my bird feeder was, and it was all upside down; the top was off, the bottom was off, and I thought, ‘Oh no, I know what this was.’”
White checked her security cameras and found footage of a large black bear roaming her yard around 10:40 p.m. Saturday, just feet from her bedroom window.
“I shook for about an hour uncontrollably; I could not believe that this had happened,” White said. “My bedroom is right in the back there, and the dogs were with me, the dogs that you hear barking in the background. They bark at every mosquito that goes by; I didn’t hear a thing.”
Park Pointe sits across the street from the North Myrtle Beach Park and Sports Complex.
Carmine, a neighbor of White, said the video was difficult to believe.
“We saw the video and we thought, ‘how did he get in’ and we saw how he ripped the fence but I was shocked it was that big and he could do that,” Carmine said.
White said she has since removed her bird feeder. The video shows the bear licking a bird feeder.
“I loved my bird feeder, but I did not realize that was just a big invitation for bears, so no more bird feeder,” White said. “I’m sort of laying birdseed on top of the column over there during the day for them to eat, finish it, and whatever is not gone I just sweep up when I go to bed at night, and there’s nothing there.”
White said she now checks outside before letting her dogs out and double-checks that her doors are locked. She has also been sharing her experience with neighbors.
White has filed a report with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. She believes nearby development may be pushing bears closer to homes.
“There is a new neighborhood going in just past our neighborhood,” White said. “With all the trees that are being cut down, it does not surprise me that we have these animals roaming our neighborhoods.”
According to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, if a bear is reported in a community, residents should remove bird feeders for at least two weeks and secure their trash.
Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with WMBF. For more free content like this, download our apps. Have feedback that can help us improve? Click here.
Copyright 2026 WMBF. All rights reserved.