Black Bear Shot and Killed
By: Ryan Tate
MADISON COUNTY, MO -- John Schwan says he hopes no other black bears wind up on his property.
A black bear, unofficially measuring six feet tall and weighing between four to five hundred pounds, stole bird feed from Schwan's shed Friday night or Saturday morning. Then on Sunday, Schwan heard his dog Cleo barking outside. When he went outside, he saw the bear.
"I thought I could scare it away, but it just kept walking towards us," Schwan said. "The bear honched up making a move for the dog, so I took my gun and bang, bang, bang, three shots."
Schwan said the bear went running. After calling a Missouri Conservation Officer, the two went looking for what they thought was a wounded bear. They didn't find anything. Schwan didn't know if he actually shot the bear.
Monday Morning, Schwan went back into the woods after hearing Cleo barking. That's when he found the bear lying dead on the ground. Schwan got three conservation officers and his neighbor to help get the bear out of the woods. The group got a tractor with a front loader on it to lift the bear onto a trailer. The bear is now in a cooler at an undisclosed location in Southeast Missouri. There is no word yet on what will happen to the animal. Schwan says this is the first time he has seen a bear on his property, and he hopes it is the last.