I was walking beside a Lowcountry tidal creek recently and noticed a rough line of oyster shell at the water's edge. It may not look like much from a distance, but an oyster reef is a living neighborhood.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.

South Carolina is home to the Eastern wild turkey, and thanks to decades of conservation and restoration work, turkeys are now found in every county in the state.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.

For a lot of kids, that first bluegill or small bass isn't just a fish - it's a first lesson in how ecosystems work.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.

Every so often someone is surprised to hear that we have bears in South Carolina. But we do - and they're pretty incredible animals.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.

Just after sunset on a summer evening, if you look up, you might see quick, darting shadows overhead. Those are bats - and they're some of the hardest-working wildlife in South Carolina.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.

Most people don't think about what's under the surface of a river - but if you could see the river bottom clearly, you might find freshwater mussels sitting half-buried in the sand.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.

One summer evening I stepped outside and the trees were humming. Cicadas. Some species spend years underground as nymphs, feeding on tree roots before emerging all at once.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.

I walked through a stand of longleaf pine not long ago and noticed something most people miss - grass at the base of a pine tree.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.