Overview
- A wild bear that had been seen in central Utsunomiya was captured Tuesday after a tranquillizer shot ended a multi-agency hunt involving police, hunters and municipal staff.
- Utsunomiya closed all 94 primary and middle schools and told residents to stay indoors while searches and warnings were rolled out across the city.
- Search teams used helicopters, loudspeakers and repeated tranquillizer attempts and local reports say the first two sedative shots failed before a later shot succeeded.
- The animal was filmed in urban spots including a shopping arcade, a university campus and a wholesale market and surveillance footage showed it confronting two pedestrians in a park.
- Officials are still seeking a separate bear that wounded four people in Fukushima last week and national data show rising bear attacks, with experts pointing to plentiful food sources and warming-driven ecological change.