Bear Attacks Zoo Employee on Way to Work in Japan: "It Was a Wild Bear, Not a Captive One"

Attacked from Behind While Walking in the Parking Lot
Bitten on Shoulder and Side, Taken to Hospital... Injuries Not Life-Threatening

An employee on his way to work was injured after being attacked by a wild bear in the parking lot of a zoo in Japan.

The photo is for illustrative purposes only and is not related to any specific content. Pixabay

On December 26, Japanese media outlets such as the Mainichi Shimbun reported, "At around 8 a.m. that day, a male employee in his 50s was attacked by a bear in the parking lot of Omoriyama Zoo, located in Hamada, Akita City, Akita Prefecture."

According to the reports, the employee was bitten on his right shoulder and side by the bear and was transported to the hospital. His injuries are reported to be relatively minor.

According to the Akita Prefectural Police, the bear was about 80 centimeters long. The injured employee had driven to work and was walking through the parking lot when he was suddenly attacked from behind.

The zoo also keeps bears, but it was confirmed that the bear that attacked the employee was a wild bear, not one of the captive animals.

Recently, there have been a series of incidents involving wild bears causing injuries and fatalities across Japan. According to a survey by the Ministry of the Environment, there were 230 casualties from bear attacks between April and November, with 13 people killed.

From April to October, nearly 10,000 bears were captured nationwide in Japan. By region, the northeastern Tohoku area accounted for about 70% of the total, with 6,579 bears captured. By prefecture, Akita Prefecture had the highest number at 1,973, followed by Aomori Prefecture with 1,154, Fukushima Prefecture with 1,151, Iwate Prefecture with 989, Yamagata Prefecture with 968, and Miyagi Prefecture with 344.

In particular, as sightings of wild bears in urban areas of northern Japan such as Akita Prefecture have increased, the Japanese government has deployed police officers to handle bear shootings since November. The government exceptionally permitted police to use firearms, judging that it was difficult to respond with only the local hunting associations that had previously been responsible for bear culling.