Confirmed black bear sightings in south Columbia

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Conservation confirmed a black bear sighting in Columbia after receiving reports on Sunday and again Thursday night.

Nate Bowersock, a department black bear expert, said a black bear was spotted Sunday night on Silvey Street, followed by a sighting near the Planet Fitness on East Nifong Boulevard on Thursday around 11 p.m.

Bowersock said there are about 1,200 bears in Missouri, mostly in the southern portion of the state. As the black bear population continues to grow, they'll start moving around to find food.

"Those more northerly bears we've been seeing tend to be younger animals just looking for a place to set up shop. They have to compete with the bigger bears, and when you're smaller, it's harder to compete with other bears, and so we see those animals come farther north," he said.

Jay Froeschner said he saw the bear on Thursday while working on his truck near The Deuce Pub and Pit near the gym, outside his home on Monterey Drive. At first, he said he thought he heard deer hooves on the ground, but turned around to find a bear.

"Seeing a bear in the middle of Columbia, right here, sprinting across, is wild. I would never have expected that," Froeschner said.

Jacob Goff took the video of the bear near Planet Fitness. He said he's never seen a bear a day in his life.

"It was pretty shocking," he said. "I just felt very small in the universe kind of thing, like, you know, this thing could eat me."

After analyzing videos and pictures that came in from people who saw the bear, Bowersock said the bear looks like an adult that weighs about 200 pounds. He couldn't determine the gender.

Although bear sightings could become more frequent in the coming years, Bowersock said black bears are timid around humans.

"Bears most days don't want much to do with people," he said. "They're really just looking for food."

If you see a bear, Bowersock said it's best to stay away from it and report it to the department. The reporting form is linked here.

The Columbia/Boone County Animal Control does not take bear sighting reports, supervisor Kevin Meyers told ABC 17 News over email. Animal control received a few emails and calls about the bear.

Meyers said black bears are omnivores that eat grasses, fruits and small rodents or frogs, and are "extremely shy of humans."

"Our recommendation is the same as with all wildlife, to leave them alone and they will move on. Missouri does have a rapidly growing population of black bears since they were almost extirpated from Missouri in the 1930's, thanks to conservation efforts across the Midwest," Meyers wrote in an email.