COLUMBIA — A black bear was spotted crossing the highway in Callaway County.

A KOMU 8 viewer this week reported seeing the bear north of Kingdom City, crossing U.S. 54 near County Road 147.

Missouri's black bear population has grown in recent years, and sightings have become more common. There are approximately 1,000 black bears in Missouri , with the core of the population concentrated south of the Interstate 44 corridor.

According to Nate Bowersock, a biologist specializing in black bears and fur bearing game at the Missouri Department of Conservation, bear territory is expanding north of I-44 to the Missouri River. This places the bear sighted in Callaway County at the northern edge of Missouri's expanding black bear range.

Bowersock said that in most cases where bears are spott

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