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The Japanese city of Utsunomiya has closed all of its 94 schools after a black bear was spotted there for the first time.
The animal, which was about a meter long, was seen several times in parks, residential areas and even near the city center of the city of half a million people last weekend. Authorities did not hesitate to take immediate action: residents were advised to stay indoors and avoid contact. Police and local hunters began a search for the animal.
Across Japan, reports of bear sightings are increasing: a record 50,000 reports have already been recorded this year, mainly in the northeastern part of the country. There are also increasing reports of bear sightings near urban areas, including around Tokyo, where bears are rarely seen.
Experts link the increase to factors such as food shortages in the forests and declining rural populations, which are making cities quieter and more attractive to wildlife. The number of bear attacks has also increased in recent years. Authorities have begun investigating measures such as monitoring through camera images with the help of artificial intelligence to track animal movements to improve public safety.
Estimates suggest that between 12,000 and 42,000 Asiatic black bears live on Japan's main island of Honshu. On the northern island of Hokkaido, there would be about 12,000 brown bears.
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