Huge brown bear captured in Hokkaido

A 380-kilogram brown bear was found in a box trap Tuesday morning in Hokkaido, the northernmost prefecture of Japan.

Footage taken on Monday night shows a brown bear approaching a box trap set near a house in a mountainous area of Tomamae Town.

And Tuesday morning, the bear was found inside the trap. It filled the trap from side to side.

The bear weighed 380 kilograms, was 1.9 meters in length, and had paws roughly 17 centimeters wide. It was later put down.

Hayashi Toyoyuki, local hunting association head, said: “We are really surprised. It’s amazing the bear actually went into the trap. I’m glad it was captured.”

A bear believed to be the same animal had appeared earlier this month at the same location.

The bear pushed over a box trap weighing more than 300 kilograms. It was a tough one for the local hunters to deal with.

Hayashi said: “This trap was set at the request of a farmer living nearby. I’m sure that he feels relieved.”

The head of local hunting association says the footprints left at the site earlier this month closely matched the size of the captured bear.