TERRIFYING

Brown Bear Rampages in Japan, Attacks Military Barracks

Four people were injured before the bear was shot dead.

A brown bear went on a rampage through the Japanese town of Sapporo, injuring four people and attacking a military barracks before being shot dead. The wild animal wreaked havoc, forcing school closures, grounding planes, and sending soldiers running for their lives. The Guardian reports that TV footage showed the bear mauling one victim from behind; the person’s condition was unknown. Hunters and helicopters were called out to capture the creature, which was shot dead. “It’s hard to properly understand what happened, but knowing that the bear is male, and given that it is the breeding season right now, it’s highly conceivable that the male was chasing after a female bear, and in the process wandered into a residential area,” Shinsuke Koike, a professor and bear expert at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, told The Washington Post.