Police and hunters in Fukushima, Japan, are searching for a bear described as “extremely intelligent” after it attacked four people and evaded capture by unlocking a window from the inside. The one-metre-long bear was seen drinking from a tap and showed no reaction when struck by a tranquilliser dart.
On Wednesday, the bear was captured on CCTV chasing and mauling an employee in a company car park before being chased off by a passerby who drove their car at the animal. The bear then ran inside an office building, where it attacked another man, before escaping again. After injuring two more people, it entered an electronics factory, where workers saw it using its paws to turn on a tap.
Local officials set four traps at the factory entrance and deployed personnel with tranquilliser guns. A police officer on watch saw the bear climb over a gate just before 11pm on Wednesday. After searching the factory, it was discovered that the bear had apparently escaped by unlatching and opening a locked window. Media reports showed images of scratch marks around the lock.
At an emergency press conference on Thursday, Fukushima City officials said the bear had been shot with a tranquilliser dart, but it was unclear why the anaesthetic had not taken effect. “This bear was seen turning on a faucet to drink water and appeared capable of opening a locked window by itself,” said Mayor Yuki Baba. “I believe it was an extremely intelligent bear.”
An expanded search involving local government officers, police, hunters and drones was launched, but the bear remained on the loose on Friday. Local schools were closed on Thursday but reopened on Friday, with the headteacher of the local elementary school saying extra precautions were being taken, including locking all ground floor doors and windows.
In the year to March, bears killed a record 13 people in Japan, with 238 serious attacks also an all-time high. Factors including rural depopulation and fluctuations in bears’ food supplies due to climate change are believed to be driving the increase in encounters with humans.
