Members of a hunting group stay vigiliant in search for a brown bear that was on the loose in Sapporo, Hokkaido prefecture on June 18, 2021. – A brown bear was on the loose in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo, with the government warning residents to stay home after the animal injured four people including a soldier. (Photo by STR / JIJI PRESS / AFP) / Japan OUT
Hunters shot and killed a brown bear in northern Japan on Friday after it rampaged through a city, injuring four people including a soldier and lumbering across busy roads.
The city of Sapporo tweeted that the bear had been “exterminated,” with a local television station saying hunters had shot the bear.
Earlier, dramatic news footage showed the bear bounding along a residential street, crossing a busy road and clawing at the gates of a military barracks, causing alarmed troops to scatter.
One soldier was injured in the bear’s rampage in the city, which will host the Olympic marathon and racewalking events in August.
Another victim was mauled by the bear after it attacked him from behind, TV footage showed. The person was taken away on a stretcher.
The rampage prompted local school closures and the cancellation of several flights at a small regional airport, NHK reported.
Earlier, government spokesman Katsunobu Kato told people in the Hokkaido region to be on alert.
“A total of four people, including one Self-Defense Forces member, have been attacked and injured by the brown bear. We express our sincere sympathy to them,” he said.
“Officials from Sapporo City, the Hokkaido police, a local hunting association and other concerned agencies have arrived at the scene. They are coordinating efforts to capture the brown bear, or if deemed necessary, exterminate it.”
One of the victims was in their 40s, one in their 70s and another in their 80s, according to NHK, which did not give details of the fourth.
They were not the only bear casualties on Friday, with authorities in central Nagano’s Suzaka City also reported a resident was attacked.
The victim was an 89-year-old woman who was attacked in her garden and suffered a broken arm, local reports said.
“It is possible that the bear is hiding in bushes. Please carry bear bells and move in groups, particularly during outings in the morning and evening,” the city said.
It also warned residents that attempting to photograph a bear “might provoke them and may prompt them to attack.”
Asian black bears are native to large parts of Japan, including the country’s main island, while brown bears roam Hokkaido further north.
The Japan Bear and Forest Society has warned that forest-dwelling bears are being spotted in greater numbers in areas inhabited by humans as they search for food.