A stealthy bruin dubbed the “Ninja Bear”, which Japanese farmers say killed more than 30 cows, has been shot dead and served up in a restaurant.
The fearsome brown bear, which authorities in Hokkaido had dubbed “Oso 18”, had been terrorising livestock farmers in the region for four years.
According to reports, the Ninja Bear mauled 66 dairy cows, killing 32 of them, in Shibecha and Akkeshi between July 2019 and June this year.
Despite its 18-centimetre-wide paw prints, the wily beast managed to evade capture and apparently learnt how to avoid traps for the best part of half a decade.
Taking advantage of a sundown hunting-rifle ban, it only launched its vicious attacks after nightfall.
Although it was only caught on CCTV about once a year, investigators knew the numerous attacks were the work of one bear due to forensic fur analysis.
But the Ninja Bear’s reign of terror has finally come to an end.
DNA analysis has confirmed that a 330-kilogramme brown bear shot dead by a hunter in Kushiro on 28th July was Oso 18.
After the find was made public on 22nd August, it soon came to light that the Ninja Bear had been served up as grub at a posh wild game restaurant in Tokyo.
It transpired that the 2.1-metre-tall bruin’s meat had been flogged to restaurants including the expensive Amakara Kumakara eatery.
The eating house confirmed that customers had chomped down on yakiniku-style grilled cuts from the Ninja Bear last week.
The restaurant added that it would use the remaining flesh to make kamui ohau bear meat hot pot stew on its autumn menu next month.
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Story By: William McGee, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
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