Bear Captured in Utsunomiya City After 3 Tranquilizer Darts; Another Bear in Fukushima Remains at Large

(Tokyo, 9th, Comprehensive Foreign Report) In Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, all municipal elementary and junior high schools were closed for two consecutive days due to a bear sighting. After several days of pursuit, Japanese authorities captured the bear this afternoon on private residential land. Meanwhile, the bear that injured four people in Fukushima Prefecture recently has not yet been "apprehended."

According to NHK, on the morning of the 6th of this month, there were successive reports of sightings of an animal suspected to be a bear, about 1 meter in length, in the urban area of Utsunomiya. The city government and hunters' association began a search after receiving the reports and discovered a bear lingering in the bushes on private residential land before 2 p.m. today.

The city government stated that after 2:30 p.m., a total of three anesthetic darts were fired, some of which appeared to hit the bear, and it was captured around 3:45 p.m. The location is a residential area about 2 kilometers south of JR Utsunomiya Station.

Since the recent bear sightings in the urban area of Utsunomiya, there have been no reports of injuries.

According to the local Tochigi newspaper Shimotsuke Shimbun, due to the bear sighting in the urban area, including near schools, the Utsunomiya City Board of Education decided to temporarily close all 94 municipal elementary and junior high schools today, following yesterday's closure. Some prefectural high schools also followed suit today.

Meanwhile, a week after four people were injured in a bear attack in Fukushima City on the 2nd of this month, the bear has not yet been found. Nearby elementary and junior high schools continue to remain on alert, with parents driving their children to and from school.

The bear that injured four people had previously stayed at an office, but police witnessed it leaving through the main gate on the 3rd and it has not been captured since. However, there have been successive reports of bear sightings in the vicinity.

According to Fukushima City Hall, within a radius of about 2 kilometers from the aforementioned office, there were successive sightings of a bear or a bear-like animal from the 4th to the 8th of this month. Among them, a report on the 6th of this month indicated that a bear was seen along a river near a primary school in the city, with all sightings occurring between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.