Tokyo Olympic organizers already have their hands full and now they have to contend with a bear on the loose.
An Asian black bear managed to break into the Fukushima softball venue twice this week and is still at large, according to reports. In a statement to Agence France-Presse, a police spokesperson explained that a guard found the bear inside Azuma Sports Park early on Tuesday morning, and spotted it again on Wednesday, mere hours before the softball game between Japan and Australia took place.
"We couldn’t find or capture the bear, and while there won’t be any spectators at the stadium, we are on alert and searching for the bear around the site," the official said.
Local media reported that organizers were trying all methods to get the bear out of the venue, including blasting loud music and using firecrackers.
U.S. softball team members said they were on the lookout for the bear, but it was nowhere to be seen — much to their disappointment.
The team's coach, Ken Eriksen, who lives in Florida, said they had tried to spot the bear during their bus trip to the stadium, according to BBC. "We were actually looking to see if we could find another bear. We don't have a lot of bears back where we are at," he said.
"I was kind of disappointed I didn't get to see it!" added U.S. pitcher Monica Abbott.
Just last month a brown bear went on a rampage through Sapporo, injuring four people, including a soldier. Schools were forced to shut down and several flights at a small regional airport were canceled, according to The Guardian.
"A total of four people, including one self-defense forces member, have been attacked and injured by the brown bear. We express our sincere sympathy to them," Government spokesperson Katsunobu Kato said at the time.
One of the victims was in their 40s, another in their 70s, and the third in their 80s, according to reports. Details on the fourth victim were not revealed.
Bear attacks are on the rise in Japan, recent data showed. Bear sightings in 2020 reached the highest point in five years, according to The Washington Post. There were over 13,600 sightings reported across the country between April and September. Experts speculate that this may be linked to the COVID pandemic.
With residents confined to their homes, bears may feel more confident wandering into spaces that would otherwise be occupied by people.
"Bears might have expanded their areas of activities after not seeing humans around during spring and early summer season," said Shinsuke Koike, an associate professor of ecology, according to The Post.
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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