FUKUSHIMA, Japan - Footage released earlier this month by a northeastern Japanese city showing tranquilizer darts failing to stop a bear as it rampaged through a local factory has highlighted the difficulty in emergency bear shootings in unexpected places.
The footage taken on June 2 obtained by Kyodo News showed officials from Fukushima in Fukushima Prefecture, trying to subdue the bear, having resorted to using tranquilizer darts instead of killing it with a rifle due to the presence of flammable materials such as spray cans and a gas water heater at the facility.
City employees including licensed so-called "government hunters" drove a vehicle inside the building in pursuit of the bear during the operation.
When an employee honked the horn, a bear about 1 meter long suddenly emerged from behind cover and charged toward the vehicle. Footage shows the bear being shot and the tranquilizer dart striking its rear.
But the animal showed no signs of being weakened by the anesthetic and it became agitated and stood on its hind legs and pounded the side of the car.
Drone footage captured outside earlier in the day showed the bear running around the factory premises. Although Fukushima authorities set up box traps, on the evening of June 3, about 33 hours after the hunting operation began, the bear opened a window and escaped from the factory and remains at large.
"Bears shed their coats ahead of summer. In that period, their fur is very thick, so the needle may not have penetrated properly," said Shota Mochizuki, an associate professor specializing in wildlife management at Fukushima University who was on site as an adviser.
Mochizuki added that the operation at a factory filled with machinery and hazardous materials was "unprecedented."
