Police and emergency officials responded after Fukushima Steel Works reported that two employees had been attacked by a bear in the Sasakino district of Fukushima City. Security camera footage released by the company showed a black bear chasing a worker near an entrance before knocking him to the ground and moving further into the facility.

The bear subsequently injured a second employee at the steel works and later attacked another male worker at a separate company nearby, according to the Fukushima City Fire Department. An elderly woman living in the neighborhood was also injured in the attacks.

Authorities said the three male victims, all company employees, suffered minor injuries, while the woman, in her 80s, sustained moderate injuries. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the bear had not been captured and was believed to remain inside the grounds of a nearby company. Police officers maintained a perimeter around the site while carrying long poles and other equipment as the search continued.

The incident prompted precautionary measures in the area, including the closure of two nearby schools. Noda Elementary School shifted classes online and advised residents to avoid unnecessary travel while the animal remained at large.

The attack comes amid a sharp rise in bear-related incidents across Japan. The Environment Ministry said 13 people were killed in more than 230 bear attacks in 2025, the highest annual toll recorded in the country.

Growing bear populations, combined with demographic changes in rural Japan, have contributed to the increase in encounters, according to government officials and wildlife experts. Many affected regions face shrinking and aging populations, resulting in fewer trained hunters and wildlife management personnel.

In March, the government estimated Japan’s bear population at approximately 57,800 animals and adopted a management roadmap aimed at controlling numbers in areas of heightened human-bear interaction. The plan calls for tripling the number of municipal bear-control staff to 2,500 within five years and doubling the number of bear traps deployed nationwide.

Concerns over bear activity have also spread beyond traditionally affected rural areas. Recent sightings have been reported in Tokyo’s western suburbs, including the popular hiking region of Okutama, where local authorities have increased trapping efforts and issued public alerts.

The government has expanded public-awareness campaigns urging hikers, foragers and outdoor enthusiasts to monitor bear warnings and avoid activity during dawn and dusk, when bears are typically most active.

Environment Ministry guidance advises people who encounter a bear to remain calm, avoid sudden movements and refrain from running. In the event of an attack, the ministry recommends curling into a protective position and shielding the neck to reduce the risk of fatal injuries.

A rapidly growing population of peacocks roaming through the Adriatic seaside town of Punta Marina has become the center of an increasingly divisive debate among residents, prompting local authorities and animal welfare groups to intervene with educational campaigns, cleanup teams and plans for an official bird census.

The birds, which wander through residential streets, perch on rooftops and occupy abandoned gardens near a disused military barracks, have become a defining feature of the small coastal town near Ravenna.

For some residents and visitors, the peacocks are an attraction that adds character to the area. Others complain about noise, hygiene concerns and property disturbances during the breeding season.Federico Bruni, who owns a holiday home in Punta Marina, said he views the birds as part of the town’s identity.

“It’s no different to seeing a cat, really, they’re part of the fabric of the town,” he said while watching several peacocks roam near a public bench.The birds are especially active during mating season, when male peacocks emit loud calls and display their iridescent tail feathers in courtship rituals.

Some residents say the noise has become disruptive.“There are too many of them,” said Francesco, a local resident who declined to provide his surname.

He said the birds frequently enter private balconies and leave droppings around apartment entrances.“The main issue is the mating the screams are keeping people awake,” he said.

Another resident, Marco, described the growing amount of peacock excrement around residential buildings as unhygienic and argued the birds should be contained.Peacocks are native to the Indian subcontinent but have existed in parts of Europe for centuries.

Historians have linked their arrival on the continent to ancient trade routes and military campaigns associated with Campaigns of Alexander the Great. Today, established peacock populations can be found in several European countries, including England and Spain.

In Emilia-Romagna, peacocks also hold cultural significance. The birds appear in Byzantine mosaics throughout Ravenna, where they historically symbolized immortality and prestige. Ravenna Byzantine Mosaics

Residents say the origins of Punta Marina’s current peacock population remain unclear, though local accounts suggest a resident may have introduced them as pets more than two decades ago.“I heard that a male peacock, left to his own devices after the woman died, crossed paths with a female one in the old military barracks,” said Ilaria Sansavini, who runs a fresh pasta shop in the town.

“They mated and it all began from there.”For years, the birds primarily stayed within the pine forest surrounding Punta Marina. Local observers say their movement into residential areas accelerated during Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020, when reduced human activity allowed them to roam more freely. Residents also began feeding them more regularly during that period.

There is no official census of the population, but estimates cited by local groups suggest the number of peacocks increased from around 10 birds in 2018 to approximately 40 in 2023 and roughly 120 today.

Rosario Balestrieri, an ornithologist at the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station, said the nearby pine forest provides suitable nesting and shelter conditions for the birds, while supplemental feeding by residents has contributed significantly to population growth.

“The pine forest serves as a preferred habitat and nesting refuge,” Balestrieri said, adding that human feeding practices encouraged the birds to remain in populated areas.

Public attention intensified after a social media video featuring a local resident imitating peacock mating calls went viral, drawing national media coverage and prompting exaggerated reports about a so-called “invasion” of birds disrupting daily life.

A local police officer described some of those portrayals as overstated, saying there was no evidence of a public health emergency linked to the birds.

Still, the issue has placed pressure on Ravenna’s municipal authorities, who have struggled for several years to balance wildlife management with public concerns. An earlier attempt to relocate peacocks in 2022 faced opposition from animal rights advocates and some residents.

The city later partnered with Clama, a volunteer animal welfare group tasked with promoting coexistence between residents and the birds.Clama volunteers have distributed informational leaflets and installed signs across Punta Marina instructing residents and tourists not to feed the peacocks. Under local regulations, people caught feeding them may face fines.

“If they know it’s easier to come and snack on a sandwich in the town rather than having to forage for their own food in the pine forest, then of course they will keep coming back,” said Cristina Franzoni, a volunteer with Clama.

To reduce tensions, local authorities and volunteers have also introduced so-called “peacock rangers,” who respond to complaints by cleaning bird droppings from streets, private properties and vehicles.Municipal officials are now preparing the town’s first formal peacock census to better assess the scale of the population and determine future management measures.

According to Franzoni, several other Italian regions have informally offered to relocate or “adopt” some of the birds. However, she argued relocation could traumatize the animals and would fail to address the broader issue of human responsibility for their presence.

“We need to try to live with the animals instead of making them victims of our choices,” Franzoni said. “They didn’t choose to come here, we brought them here and so must respect them.”