Bear that caused panic in Japanese city caught on university campus

Bear trapped on university campus from city near Tokyo

Mohan Sinha
11 Jun 2026, 13:44 GMT+10

A bear that wandered into Utsunomiya, a city just north of Tokyo, and frightened residents was captured on June 9 after several days of panic that led to the closure of all schools.
Officials said they received dozens of reports of bear sightings over the next few days, including near a library, schools, and a community center.
Asiatic black bears are considered a vulnerable species worldwide, but their numbers in Japan are believed to have tripled since 2012, partly due to less hunting.

TOKYO, Japan: A bear that wandered into Utsunomiya, a city just north of Tokyo, and frightened residents was captured on June 9 after several days of panic that led to the closure of all schools.

The bear, weighing about 100 kg (220 lbs), was first seen on June 6 near a park in Utsunomiya, which has a population of around 500,000 people.

It was last spotted early on June 9, about 700 meters from a university campus, according to city officials.

Officials said they received dozens of reports of bear sightings over the next few days, including near a library, schools, and a community center. This led authorities to close all city-run schools on Monday and Tuesday.

The city issued warnings on social media and used a public announcement vehicle to advise residents to stay inside buildings or vehicles if they encountered the bear, to lock doors and windows, and to avoid putting out garbage at night.

On the afternoon of June 9, the bear was found on private property and was shot with a tranquilizer gun by a veterinarian, said city official Ryuhei Irie. No one was hurt.

City officials used a drone to track the bear after it was seen earlier that day near a university campus, prompting the cancellation of all classes.

Asiatic black bears are considered a vulnerable species worldwide, but their numbers in Japan are believed to have tripled since 2012, partly due to less hunting.

Experts say climate change has reduced the supply of natural foods for bears, such as acorns and beechnuts. At the same time, shrinking rural populations and more abandoned farmland have encouraged bears to move closer to human settlements in search of food.

The incident in Utsunomiya is another example of bears increasingly entering areas with fewer and older residents in Japan.

Last week, another bear attacked four people in a residential area of Fukushima in northeastern Japan, causing moderate injuries.

In March, the Japanese government estimated the country's bear population at about 57,800. Officials have introduced a plan to manage the bear population that calls for systematic measures.