2 days ago
DNA analysis finds bear shot dead in Hokkaido killed two residents
Officials in the northern Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido say a brown bear that fatally attacked a man last week was the same animal that attacked a woman four years ago.
A 52-year-old newspaper delivery man in the town of Fukushima, southern Hokkaido, died on July 12 after he was mauled by a bear.
On Friday, a male brown bear was shot dead in the town.
A local research institute conducted a DNA analysis taken from a sample of the bear's fur and concluded that it matched that of fur found on the victim's clothes and near the scene of the attack.
It also said the bear's DNA matched that of a bear which fatally attacked a woman in her 70s four years ago.
The officials have determined that the bear killed both the man and the woman.
The prefectural government has lifted an alert issued in the town, but is still urging residents to stay vigilant for bears.
