Bear attacks worker, ransacks meat section in Japan supermarket rampage

Vocabulary: 186, Words: 323

1A bear that ran amok in a supermarket in northern Japan has been caught two days after it attacked a worker, the latest in a surge of encounters between bears and people in the country.

2The bear wandered into the store in Akita City on Saturday and attacked a 47-year-old employee, who sustained a minor head injury, police said.

3It was two more days before authorities were able to trap the animal – and in that time it ransacked the meat section and damaged some shelves, police said, citing the store manager.

4Bear attacks are becoming a growing headache for the country, especially in northern Japan, where mountain ranges and lush bush provide an ideal habitat.

5But climate change is interfering with flowering and pollination schedules, disrupting bears’ traditional sources of food, forcing them to venture out to urban areas in search of sustenance, some experts have suggested.

Flyers to warn of bear attacks are distributed in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on May 18, 2017. Prefectural police in Aomori and Akita have told local residents not to enter forests where bears were spotted at a time of year when they forage for bamboo shoots and mountain vegetables.

6Related article Bear attacks in Japan hit record high

9The bear, believed to be 1-meter (3 feet) long, remained in the store after attacking the worker, so authorities sent a drone inside on Sunday to find it, public broadcaster NHK reported.

10Outside, police officers in protective gear and holding shields entered the supermarket from an entrance covered by a piece of plastic, according to local media footage.

11The bear was later found in the storage area, so workers set up a box trap, with honey and apples to attract the interloper. 12The bear was caught on Monday.

13The bear was later put down, an Akita City Hall spokesperson told CNN.

14The number of bear attacks in the prefecture was higher than usual this year after hitting a record last year, the spokesperson said.

15Japan also recorded the highest number of injuries or property damage as a result of bear attacks in the fiscal year that ended in March, according to NHK.

16CNN’s Lisako Neriki Ancheta contributed reporting.

from CNN