100-kg bear caught after 4 days of sightings in city north of Tokyo

A roughly 100-kilogram bear was cornered and tranquilized in a city north of Tokyo on Tuesday, following four days of repeated sightings that prompted school closures in the area to keep children out of harm's way, local authorities said.

The mammal, believed to be a male Asian black bear measuring about a meter in length, was the first of its kind seen in an urban area of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, and the first captured in the city's vicinity since 2020. It is believed to have wandered down from the mountains north of the city.

The bear was spotted under the eaves of a house at around 2 p.m., about 2.5 kilometers southeast of JR Utsunomiya Station. As police cordoned off the area, zoo staff authorized by prefectural authorities fired a tranquilizer gun at the animal, hitting it with a third shot at around 3:30 p.m. The bear was removed from the scene by a hunting association.

"As well as houses, residential areas have many obstacles like thickets, which made capture difficult," an Utsunomiya municipal official said at a press conference.

The city had received 25 reports of sightings since Saturday. Officials also said they will remain on alert for about three more days, as the possibility of other bears lurking in the area cannot be ruled out.

The animal was first spotted in a wooded area of Utsunomiya on Saturday before wandering into residential neighborhoods later that day. It was reportedly seen passing through the city center early Sunday before moving into residential areas in the southern and eastern parts of the city on Tuesday.

It was spotted on the grounds of Utsunomiya University on Tuesday morning, leading to the cancellation of classes for the entire day.

All 94 municipal elementary and junior high schools have been temporarily closed since Monday and will remain closed through Wednesday.

Meanwhile, in Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture, in the country's northeast, a woman in her 40s suffered non-life-threatening injuries to her left arm and right eye when she was attacked by a bear on Tuesday evening, according to police. The bear went away into the woods after attacking her.