100-kg bear caught after 4 days of sightings in city north of Tokyo

UTSUNOMIYA, Japan - A roughly 100-kilogram bear was cornered and tranquilized in a city north of Tokyo on Tuesday, following four days of repeated sightings that prompted school closures in the area to keep children out of harm's way, local authorities said.

The mammal, believed to be a male Asian black bear measuring about a meter in length, was the first of its kind seen in an urban area of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, and the first captured in the city's vicinity since 2020. It is believed to have wandered down from the mountains north of the city.