With bears on the move, Missouri wildlife officials advise awareness
Missouri wildlife officials have confirmed a handful of bear sightings in the vicinity of Kansas City this week and are advising people to stay clear of any bears they might happen across.
Earlier this week, one sighting was confirmed in the Stilwell, Kansas, area, around the same time as a handful of sightings in the Grandview area, said Erin Woodiel, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Conservation. The most recent sighting came in southern Kansas City around 2 a.m. Wednesday, she said.
“Every sighting that we’ve been able to verify shows very normal bear behavior,” Woodiel said. “It doesn’t seem to be aggressive or really even be interested in approaching people. It’s just sort of making its way through the area. We’re going to keep letting it do that.
“As long as people follow the idea of giving the bear space and making sure that they’re not contributing to providing food for it, then after a few days, it’ll kind of recognize hopefully that there’s a lot of people here and not a lot of food and it should probably move on,” she said.
Bear sightings in the Kansas City area are not common. Bears typically live in more wilderness environments, and most bears in Missouri live south of Interstate 44, according to the Department of Conservation.
“As far as Kansas City is concerned, this does not happen very often, and it’s causing quite the stir,” Woodiel said.
But with growing black bear numbers in the state, seeing them spreading out and looking for food and shelter isn’t unexpected, Woodiel said. Sometimes that will mean they wander into more urban areas.
According to state data, Missouri’s black bear population was estimated at around 900 in 2023, with an annual growth rate of 8%, up from an approximate population of 300 in 2012. Those projections are reflected by growing reports of bear sightings, including outside the core black bear range in the southern part of the state, a state report said.
State officials responded to 27 confirmed bear deaths in 2023, nine of which were caused by vehicle collisions. Just one of the deaths was reported to be because of a conflict.
Officials said that a young male bear was killed in Howell County, in southern Missouri, in a collision with a vehicle early Sunday morning.
“Animals are on the move — from turtles to black bears — and that includes crossing roads,” the Department of Conservation said in a social media post Thursday. “Be on watch for wildlife crossing roadways in front of your vehicle.”
“It truly was one of those accidents that happen to wildlife on a road,” Woodiel said. “We just remind people to be vigilant, especially if you’re driving in dark areas, keep your brights on when possible, be very alert when you’re driving and all that.”
Generally, bears don’t want anything to do with people. Wildlife officials advise people not to leave food outside and to secure garbage and recyclables, which can present attractive targets to bears looking for a meal.
“They’re not interested in interacting with humans, and this bear that’s been walking around Kansas City, it’s mostly just following its nose to scents of food,” Woodiel said. “It’s important for people to let the bear kind of move through, don’t corner it, don’t attempt to corral it a certain way. Stay out of its way and let it keep meandering, and it won’t have any reasons to feel agitated or defend itself.”
This story was originally published May 15, 2025 at 9:39 PM.
