Bear looking for auto parts?

As most of my friends know, I'm quite intrigued by bears. For a while I lived in an area along the coast of Oregon where there's a hefty population of black bears. They wandered through the neighborhood at will, eating huckleberries and blackberries. I even managed to get a few pictures of one who decided to lounge in my front yard.

Now that I'm living in the greater Tokyo area, I didn't expect to be reading anything in the newspapers about bears, but this article appeared Monday. I couldn't help wondering if maybe all the bear really wanted was a few replacement parts for a car damaged while sniffing out snacks in the back seat!

Wild bears injure 4 in Iwate, Hiroshima

Monday, June 28, 2004 at 05:00 JST
TOKYO — Four people suffered various injuries Sunday after being attacked by bears in Hiroshima and Iwate prefectures, police said.

A 30-year-old man sustained head and back injuries when a bear entered an office at an automobile parts factory in Akitakada, Hiroshima Prefecture, and attacked him.