Bear Breaks Into Nursing Home in Japan
TOKYO - A baby bear stunned residents of a nursing home in western Japan Tuesday when it broke through the front door and pounded through the facility, police said. There were no injuries to the five staff and some 100 elderly occupants of the home.
But the early morning intrusion followed a string of incidents in the same area earlier this month, when a bear attacked three people, injuring two, before it was shot dead.
On Tuesday, the 3.3-foot tall bear broke through a glass door at the Jorakuen elderly home in the town of Kamiichi, a Toyama prefectural (state) police spokesman said.
The bear, weighing about 110 pounds, fled after a staff member shouted loudly. But it returned a few minutes later to roam inside the home, crushing plastic doors leading into the residents' rooms before leaving, the police spokesman said.
Police and local hunters were searching for the young bear.
Thirteen people have been injured in 12 bear attacks in Toyama this year, according to police. None of the injuries were life-threatening.
Brown bears are commonly spotted in Japan, especially on the northernmost main island of Hokkaido. While mostly responsible for crop damage, they have been known to attack humans and on occasion cause fatalities.
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