BEWARE THE BEASTS
Sharp teeth and claws, stealth and speed-predators! Watch out! For domestic animals (and defenseless humans) in early Charles Towne, danger often lurked alongside tasty nuts and berries in the tall grasses and tangled woods.
Hungry predators-meat-eating birds, mammals or reptiles-were always on the lookout to snatch a fat piglet, a newborn calf, fresh eggs or baby chicks.
The English settlers feared wolves, pumas, bears and other powerful New World beasts. The settlers killed them and destroyed their dens whenever they could.
South Carolina
State Park Service
Settlers not only feared Carolina's large predators; they competed with other carnivorous animals for meat. Over time, most large carnivores in the area died or fled westward.