49. NO GREY AREA: Safari in The Sticks.

New Jersey has a bad rep. On film and TV, the state's always described as a polluted garbage dump, infested with gangsters. And, one must admit, in certain parts of the Garden State, its reputation rings true. But, in addition, there are areas of large, lush forests, filled with wild animals, and streams where trouts thrive.  

SKYLANDS, NEW JERSEY.

In the early summer of '98, my cousin Sig - probably the best archer and hunting guide on the East Coast - took me and my niece Monica on a one day trip, with a promise of seeing bear. This was a big thing for both of us, neither having seen a bear in the wild. We got to see three.

A female black bear (Ursus americanus) with two cubs crossed the road right in front of us. It was one of those moments I can rewind in slow motion in my skull. Finally, mom turned her head and gave us one last warning stare, before the small family disappeared back into the safety of the woods.

 BIG BEAR. SMALL BEAR. ANOTHER SMALL BEAR.

Black bears are not rare in these parts. Here, in the Skylands region of Northwestern Jersey, there's a growing population of at least a thousand bears. A total of 3500 black bears in the fourth smallest, and most densely populated of all the United States. Bears have been reported in every county. In fact, there are so many bears now that they had to start hunting them again last year. 

In Norway, where I live, a country known for its nature and wilderness, there are around 164 brown bears (Ursus arctos, last count in 2009), and plenty of people who think that number's way too high. We're now talking about an area fourteen times larger than New Jersey, and with roughly half the human population.

Also that day, we saw flocks of deer, and rarities like wild turkey and golden eagle... All this, a little over an hour's drive from Manhattan.