Bear on the loose prompts closure of 94 schools in Japanese city
A medium-sized black bear prompted Utsunomiya, Japan, to shut down 94 schools after being spotted in the city center and nearby areas; residents were urged to lock doors and seek shelter as police and hunters search for the animal. The incident comes amid a nationwide surge in bear sightings (about 50,000 this year) linked by experts to food shortages and urban encroachment, with authorities exploring AI-enabled CCTV to track bear movements.