Black bear spotted roaming through the St. Louis Metro
By Melanie Johnson
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SULLIVAN, Missouri (KMOV) — A black bear was seen walking the streets of Franklin and Crawford counties on Wednesday.
“I grew up on a farm, and I’m use to seeing nature, but this is the first time that I actually saw a bear within the city limits or even out in the wild around our community,” said resident James Bartle.
Bartle took pictures of the furry creature wandering in an alley an hour away from St. Louis in Sullivan. He tells News 4 that police and the Missouri Conservation team followed the bear to safety and into a wooded area.
“The big thing was the officers was trying to keep people away because you can tell it was kind of frightened and wore out because he’s been running,” Bartle said. “I was marveled by the bear’s beauty. “
According to the state black bear map, there have been sightings near Clayton, Affton, Wildwood, Ballwin and St. Peters.
In May, a Black bear was spotted and caught on camera wandering around Festus.
The Missouri bear population is around 900, with an estimated increase of 9% each year.
“Just stay back away from them and let them do their wandering and get back into the wild,” Bartle said.
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