Japanese Authorities Finally Tranquilise Black Bear After It Shuts Down Schools and Terrorises a City for Days

A black bear that shut down an entire city’s schools and had half a million people locking their doors has finally been sedated and captured. It took nearly two hours. Three tranquiliser darts. The first one missed.

The bear was cornered about two and a half kilometres south of Utsunomiya’s main railway station on Tuesday. Residents had spotted it more than twenty times since Saturday. It was everywhere. Near homes. Near schools. Near parks. Swimming in a river. Climbing fences through backyards. All 94 public primary and middle schools were closed. Officials warned there might be a second bear still out there. Doors and windows stayed locked.

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The capture operation lasted an hour and forty minutes. A veterinarian fired the first dart and missed. Fifteen minutes later, a second shot. Then a third. The bear, believed to weigh around 100 kilograms, finally went down. The city exhaled.

But the bear crisis gripping Japan is far from over. Last year, bear attacks hit record levels. 238 victims reported to the environment ministry. 13 deaths. The numbers are unprecedented and terrifying. In Fukushima, another bear attacked four people in a residential district last week. That one is still free. It broke into an electronics factory, then escaped by unlocking a window while police had the building surrounded. The mayor described it as extremely intelligent. It was seen drinking from a tap and may have turned the handle itself. Drones are now searching for it.

Japan is scrambling for solutions. The government set up a ministerial task force and introduced emergency measures. Local governments are turning to technology. A village in Fukushima is testing AI powered image analysis for trail cameras. KDDI SmartDrone has an unmanned aircraft system with thermal cameras that can follow bears through dense vegetation until hunters arrive. Then there is the Super Monster Wolf, a solar powered robotic wolf with glowing red eyes designed to scare bears away. The company behind it says it has already received dozens of orders in 2026, far exceeding normal demand.

A bear that unlocked a window. A city that closed every school. A robot wolf standing guard. Japan is fighting its wildlife problem with everything it has. The bears are still coming.