There have been very recent reports of a bear near Festus, Missouri over the last few weeks and that has sadly led to a confirmation that a vehicle struck and killed one of these animals on I-55 this week in that area.

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The Missouri Department of Conservation released a statement on their official website confirming the sad news is true. They say that they've had many residents sharing photos of a bear in the Festus, Missouri area over the past weeks. They started receiving reports Tuesday night, May 23, 2023 around 8:50pm and confirmed the bear had been struck on I-55 and killed.

The bear that was killed appears to one with a very unique coloring as the Missouri Department of Conservation said the animal had "reddish-tinted fur characteristic of the cinnamon phase of an American black bear" which isn't rare, but isn't common either.

It appears this story doesn't end here as the bear is reportedly being sent to the Missouri Department of Conservation's Wildlife Health Veterinary Lab in Columbia for more testing.

Fox 2 in St. Louis also shared video of this report of the black bear's demise on I-55.

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