WENTZVILLE, Missouri - A bear that garnered a following in Iowa is now roaming around Missouri after being tranquilized.
The bear, which has been nicknamed Bruno on social media, was spotted in eastern Iowa in mid June after traveling from Wisconsin.
It since wandered into Illinois and then down to Missouri. Missouri conservation workers tranquilized the bear Sunday after determining it would have had difficulty to safely leave an area surrounded by interstate highways within the city limits of Wentzville. The bear had attracted a crowd of 400 onlookers. Wentzville is in the western reaches of the St. Louis metro area.
The Missouri Department of Conservation reports the bear "was safely transported to an area of suitable habitat outside the urban area and was released unharmed when he awoke."
Missouri has a population of between 540-840 bears in the southern region of the state.
The bear attracted a following in Iowa and the state Department of Natural Resources had warned people to leave the it alone, and had tried to discourage people from stopping on the roadside to view it.
(Image courtesy of the Missouri Department of Conservation)