one Bear Roaming on the runway forced Japanese airports to cancel flights on Thursday and announced that they were unrestricted to passengers.
The black bear appeared at Yamagata Airport in northern Japan, prompting its runway to close. According to Yomiuri Shimbun, the bear was about four feet tall and was initially found near the runway around 7 a.m. Thursday.
The first witness caused four flights delayed for an hour, and then the animals reappeared around noon, this time on the runway.
Airport staff drove it away with a car and closed the runway again, and the bear was still somewhere in the facility.
“In view of the situation, we are unable to receive the planes to arrive now,” Yamagata Airport official Akira Nagai told AFP on Thursday night.
As the hunters were brought in to build a trap, police around the airport stopped the bear from escaping, “We are now at a stalemate,” Nagai said.
The official said the facility plans to close the runway until around 8:00 p.m.
Human-bear encounters reached record levels in Japan, with 219 attacks and 6 dead in the 12 months to April 2024.
Last month, a bear’s eyes brought Golf Championship ends prematurely In central Japan, safety precautions were invoked with organizers.
Climate change that affects food sources and dormant hours is a key factor, but as Japan’s population ages, humans leave rural areas, which also leaves room for bears.
“The area is restored to the forest, so bears have a chance to expand,” said koji Yamazaki, a biologist from Tokyo Agricultural University. Tell CBS News‘Elizabeth Palmer in 2023.
Japan is one of the only places on Earth where large mammals are regaining habitat, which is good news for bears, but if, as biologists suspect that bear populations are growing, the country will have to find new ways to protect people, as well as important infrastructure like airports.
The Japanese government approved a bill in February that allows hunters to shoot bears in densely populated areas.
In December, Bears rushing Two days lure food through a Japanese supermarket that coats food with honey. Police said the animal was trapped and later killed.
