1,000+ Bears Now in Missouri and Still Increasing

Growing up in Missouri, I was taught to be aware that the state had many venomous snakes and other critters that could do me harm. At that time, bears were not a real factor, but times sure have changed. State officials now estimate that the black bear population in Missouri has exploded over 1,000 and the numbers are now growing every year.

I came across this interesting virtual seminar that the Missouri Department of Conservation is offering on July 25 as they'll be teaching about bears. In that invitation, they included some stunning bear facts which I was not aware of including the fact that "It’s estimated there are currently more than 1,000 bears in Missouri and the state’s population is growing at an annual rate of approximately nine percent". I'm no math genius, but that means Missouri adds at least 90 apex predators to the backwoods community every single year.

Bears have an undeserved reputation for being a danger to humans when these creatures will almost never threaten a person with few exceptions. If you see a bear in the wild and give the creature a way to easily escape, they'll often scurry off into the woods to continue to do bear things. The problems normally happen when you either surprise a bear or encounter a mother bear with young cubs. Bears are curious creatures and have a well-deserved stereotype of doing anything and everything for food, but they rare approach a human that's leaving them alone that doesn't pose a threat. That's a good thing in Missouri as black bears are now a more common sight in the backcountry. Missouri is now officially bear country.