Black bear sighting in Pleasant Hill, Missouri

PLEASANT HILL, Mo. — The Missouri Department of Conservation has confirmed a black bear sighting over the weekend in Cass County, Missouri, well north of where sightings are more typical.

Walker Aldrige caught sight of the black bear on a trail camera near Missouri Highway 58 and Purvis Road.

The city posted about the bear on Facebook because it’s concerned about people coming to use the trail and coming in contact.

“This is a really busy road off of Purvis [road]. It’s the main road that they go to park,” one woman said, pointing to the Rock Island Spur Trail.

Pleasant Hill is telling citizens, “Black bears aren’t interested in humans, alerting them to your presence by sound is the ideal way to scare them off, and all sightings should be reported to the Missouri Department of Conservation.”