COLUMBIA — Columbia had two bear sightings in south Columbia late Thursday night. One Columbia resident, Jake Goff, saw a large black bear outside Planet Fitness at the intersection of Providence Road and Nifong Boulevard.
He caught the bear on video roaming the parking lot Thursday night, just before midnight.
“One of my members came in looking shocked saying he thinks there’s a bear in the parking lot,” said Goff, who works at Planet Fitness. “We all go outside together and, sure enough, you seen a bear walking across the parking lot … I was pretty shocked.”
According to Nate Bowersock, a black bear and furbearer biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation, it appears the bear seen in the video is an adult black bear. Bowersock said he’s not sure whether the bear is male or female.
A black bear roams outside Planet Fitness in Columbia on June 11, 2026.
Jake Goff
“The bear we saw last year that was running around at the area, that ended up being a female,” Bowersock said. “We tend to see more males do these large movements. And so it would make sense that that would be a male over a female, but the last year was a great example of, you know, we made that assumption, actually was a female. So hard to say.”
Another Columbia resident saw the bear earlier Thursday evening on Bethel Street near Nifong Boulevard.
This is not the first set of bear sightings this week. Suzanne Stuebben and her friend Jodi Hardwick encountered one early Sunday morning in northwest Columbia. They said they weren’t sure what was on the road.
“It was huge and one of our friends were like, ‘You guys sure it wasn’t a dog?'” Hardwick said. “It is not a dog. Definitely bear.”
According to the Department of Conservation’s Black Bears in Missouri 2023 pamphlet, research suggests there are 800 black bears in the state of Missouri. Bowersock said this number has since increased.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
“We’ve seen our population go from a few bears to, you know, we have around 1,200 bears statewide,” Bowersock said. “So you kind of expect to see bears expanding and showing up and new places over time.”
Black bears were abundant in the state, but by 1850, the species was nearly nonexistent. Bowersock said the increase in appearances is positive; it means conservation efforts are helping.
Several residents in Centralia spotted a black bear wandering around town last summer.
“This is a great example of that the conservation efforts we’ve been putting in place to build our bear population back up,” Bowersock said. “We are starting to see bears in areas that we haven’t seen them for a long time. It’s an encouraging thing for us to, to see bears like this. We would prefer to see them outside of developed areas, but as long as the bears aren’t getting into trash and other human foods. The big thing is just let it wander around, do its thing, and it likely will go back out to the more undeveloped places in the state.”
Bowersock said the reason for these appearances could be because of the recent weather and flooding.
“As those water levels come up, whether it’s in the Missouri River itself or even those tributaries feeding in, it could be pushing those bears out of that, some of those spots and, and finding some drier ground,” Bowersock said. “Because they do actually enjoy being in the water. It helps them cool down with those thick coats, but the food resources they need potentially are underwater. And so they have to continue to look for alternative food sources.”
To prevent bears coming to your house, Bowersock recommends moving food, grills and trash inside.
“The big thing is: Enjoy the sighting, but definitely do not approach the bear. We don’t want selfies with this animal. Obviously, that’s a bear,” Bowersock said. “The other big thing is give the animal space and if you’re in your car, stay in your car. If you’re in your home, stay close to your house. If it seems like the bears are coming closer, just go into your home and use that as your protected area. The big thing is just give the bear room and it will move on and do its thing.”
More information on reporting bear sightings in Missouri and how to stay safe is available on the Missouri Department of Conservation website.
This story has been updated with new details.