Toyama, May 28 (News On Japan) - A bear was euthanized on the evening of May 27 after an eight-hour standoff in the grounds of a residential property in Tonami, Toyama Prefecture.
At around 5 a.m., a local resident in Kitsunejima, Tonami City, called the police, reporting 'a black animal moving in the rice fields.'
As police, city officials, and members of the local hunting association searched, the bear was sighted near a nearby temple at 8:35 a.m. It was later confirmed to have fled into the grounds of a house with a woodland area.
An eyewitness said, 'From there, I saw the bear.' 'Right in front of me. I saw the bear near those arranged stones.'
The bear climbed a tall, leafy tree, and at around 4:30 p.m., members of the hunting association used a warning shot to bring the bear down from the tree before euthanizing it.
The bear was a male, estimated to be 3 to 4 years old, measuring 110 cm in length and weighing 50 kg.
The area is a rural zone with scattered houses and woodland, and residents were surprised as they did not consider it a place to be wary of bears.
No one was injured in the incident.
Source: ANN