He said the suspect has 30 days to answer the citation by entering a plea. If the plea is not guilty, the case may be presented to the county prosecutor, he said.

Officials began getting tips about the incident on Monday, Zarlenga said, coincidentally the day after another black bear was captured in Warren County. That one was trapped and sedated Sunday on a family farm, nine days after a man who cuts hay on the property spotted it.

Agents returned to the farm on Monday to inspect the sedated bear. Zarlenga said it had been in Christian County, in southwest Missouri, two years ago, and its GPS collar was no longer working. Agents found the animal to be in good health, put on a new tracking collar and released it where it was found.

The dead bear in Jefferson County had no tracking device and was not tagged, Zarlenga said. Agents do not know its gender or age, but believe it was an adult. “We don’t have the full body,” he explained.

Missouri is home to an estimated 300 to 400 black bears. The state has tracking devices on about 80.