Bruno tranquilized in Missouri
Errant American black bear relocated by local police, state Conservation Department
Missouri officials prepare to move Bruno the bear after he was shot with a tranquilizer gun Sunday. (Facebook/Elsberry Police Department)
By Ted Cox
Bruno the errant American black bear was tranquilized and relocated Sunday in Missouri after spending weeks wandering peacefully through western Illinois.
The Illinois Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday that Bruno had crossed the Mississippi River southwest of Pleasant Hill. Joe Hartsock, a resident of the Pike County town, shot video of the bear swimming across the river Tuesday night. IDPH reported that the bear had been seen near Elsberry, Mo.
On Sunday, the Elsberry Police Department reported that Bruno had been shot with a tranquilizer gun by Missouri Conservation Department officers. Elsberry police published a Facebook post Sunday evening on the bear, saying, “His name is Bruno and he was tranquilized by Conservation and moved away from the metro area for his safety and the publics [sic].”
The original photo posted of Brun’s capture. (Facebook/Elsberry Police Department)
Peoria Journal Star columnist Phil Luciano ran an item on Bruno on Monday.
It was a busy day in Elsberry, as the department also posted an item on a resident ripping a U.S. flag off the front porch of a home, reporting, “He was quickly identified and arrested for theft.”
Posts on a Keeping Bruno Safe page created on Facebook were originally distraught, but some also pointed out Elsberry is 60 miles northwest of St. Louis. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported earlier there is a bear colony is southern Missouri, but a bear ambling the St. Louis suburbs might not have been granted the leeway he was in western Illinois, where state troopers joined in helping what they called “Smokey the Bear ‘Bruno’” in crossing Interstate 72 a week ago.
The bear entered northwestern Illinois on June 10 from Wisconsin, crossed the Mississippi into Iowa, then returned just south of the Quad Cities just over two weeks ago, creating something of a stir in Henderson County over Father’s Day weekend, as bears have not resided in Illinois since being driven out by settlers in the late 1800s. IDPH counseled Illinoisans to leave the bear alone and he’d most likely respond in kind. Stephanie Fitzsimons, a large-carnivore biologist with the department, praised Bruno’s good behavior, saying, “This bear hasn’t even touched a garbage can. … It is a timid species, but you don’t want to provoke it.”
An Elsberry Police Department representative told Luciano, “He was moved to a safer location, so he can’t be harmed or endanger people,” but with no other information available. The Missouri Conservation Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but according to a Monday post on the Keeping Bruno Safe webpage, “Bruno has been released back into the wild. He is a free bear! No tag or tracking device was put on him.”