News Reading Practice #96

(100 Day Challenge)

BEAR SNARED AFTER THREE DAY SUPERMARKET STANDOFF WITH JAPAN POLICE
Authorities in Akita prefecture had struggled to locate the animal, which attacked a man and has eaten large quantities of meat

A bear that attacked a supermarket employee in northern Japan at the weekend before apparently holing up inside for three days has been exterminated after being found in a trap local authorities had laid near the store’s entrance. A 47-year-old man was taken to hospital suffering from facial and other injuries after the attack in the northern prefecture of Akita on Saturday morning. His injuries are not life-threatening, according to local media.

Police called in licensed hunters to kill the animal, which is said to be about a metre in length, but they were initially unable to locate it, the Kyodo news agency said.Traps were laid at entrances to the supermarket, where the bear appeared to have eaten large quantities of meat. A drone had also been deployed to establish its whereabouts.

Police said the bear had been found in a trap, where honey, apples and bread had been placed, set between an entrance and a storage area after the government informed them the trap’s sensor had been activated early on Monday morning.The bear was put to sleep before being killed, the Kyodo news agency said.

Authorities in parts of northern Japan are struggling to address the rising number of encounters between humans and bears that have left their natural habitat in search of food.Residents have been told to remain vigilant, including those in urban areas, as the animals prepare to go into hibernation, while some have warned that the scarcity of food means that some hungry animals will continue to forage during the colder months.

Authorities reported 219 casualties, including six deaths, from bear attacks across 19 of Japan’s 47 prefectures in the 12 months to March this year – the highest figure since nationwide data became available. Fluctuating harvests of bears’ staple foods and rural depopulation have been cited as factors in the rise in ursine encounters, while experts believe a steady fall in the number of children, whose noisier behaviour helps keeps bears away, is another factor behind the rise in incidents in country towns and villages.

The injured man in Akita was attacked while working near the supermarket’s delicatessen section before the store opened early on Saturday. Another worker helped him to the safety of a storage area before calling police, Kyodo said. The store was closed and there were no shoppers inside at the time.Several bear sightings had been reported in the neighbourhood, located near the centre of Akita city, in recent days. The prefecture was the scene of two high-profile incidents last year, including one in which a man lost part of an ear after finding a bear in his garage, and another in which several people were mauled at a bus stop.

Japan’s bear population is growing, with one estimate putting the number of black bears at 44,000 – compared with 15,000 estimated in 2012. That figure does not include Hokkaido, thought to be home to just under 12,000 Ussuri brown bears, whose population has more than doubled since 1990. -The Guardian

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SNARE - Trap (കെണിയിലാവുക)   

STANDOFF - Confrontation (പ്രതിസന്ധി, ഏറ്റുമുട്ടല്‍)   

PREFECTURE - Administrative region (പ്രാദേശിക ഭരണസംവിധാനം)   

STRUGGLE - Strive, face difficulty (പാടുപെടുക)   

LOCATE - Find (കണ്ടുപിടിക്കുക)    

APPARENTLY - Seemingly (പ്രത്യക്ഷത്തില്‍, എന്നു തോന്നിപ്പിക്കുന്ന)   

HOLE UP - Hide (ഒളിക്കുക)   

EXTERMINATE - Kill (കൊല്ലുക)   

LAID - Placed, set (വിരിച്ച, വെച്ചിരുന്ന)   

LIFE-THREATENING - Dangerous to life (ജീവിതത്തിന് ഭീഷണിയായ)   

CALL IN - Summon (ഓദ്യോഗികമായി വിളിച്ചുവരുത്തു)   

INITIALLY - At first (തുടക്കത്തില്‍)   

APPEARED TO HAVE - Seemed to have (എന്ന് തോന്നിക്കുന്ന-കരുതുന്ന)   

DEPLOY - Deploy, position (വിന്യസിക്കുക)   

ESTABLISH - Determine, identify (നിർണ്ണയിക്കുക, സ്ഥാപിക്കുക)   

WHEREABOUTS - Location (എവിടെയെന്നുള്ള കാര്യം)   

PUT TO SLEEP - Sedate (മയക്കി)   

REMAIN VIGILANT - Stay alert (ജാഗ്രതപാലിക്കുക)   

URBAN AREA - City areas (നഗര പ്രദേശങ്ങള്‍)   

HIBERNATION - Winter dormancy (ശീതകാല നിദ്ര)   

FORAGE - Search for food (ഭക്ഷണം തിരഞ്ഞ് നടക്കുക)   

CASUALTIES - Losses, injuries (ജീവഹാനി, മരണങ്ങള്‍)   

HIGHEST FIGURE - Maximum number (ഉര്‍ന്ന കണക്ക്)   

FLUCTUATING - Unstable, varying (എടുത്തക്കുറച്ചില്‍, അസ്ഥിരമായ)   

STAPLE FOODS - Main foods (പ്രധാന ഭക്ഷണം)   

DEPOPULATION - Reduction in population (വിജനത, ജനസംഖ്യ കുറയല്‍)   

CITE - Refer to (എടുത്തു പറയുക, ഉദ്ധരിക്കുക)   

URSINE - Bear-related (കരടികളുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട)   

NOISIER BEHAVIOUR - Loud behavior (ശബ്ദമയാനമായ പെരുമാറ്റം)   

KEEP AWAY - Prevent from approaching (അകറ്റി നിര്‍ത്തുക)   

DELICATESSEN - Deli, meat shop (ഭക്ഷണക്കട, മാംസക്കട)   

SHOPPERS - Customers (കച്ചവടക്കാര്‍)   

SIGHT - See (കാണുക)   

NEIGHBOURHOOD - Local area (സമീപപ്രദേശം)   

GARAGE - Parking area (വാഹനം നിര്‍ത്തിയിടുന്ന സ്ഥലം)   

MAUL - Attack, injure (പരിക്കേല്‍ക്കുക, മാന്തിക്കീറുക)   

COMPARED WITH - In comparison to (താരതമ്യപ്പെടുത്തുക)   

THOUGHT TO BE - believed to be/ estimated to be (വിശ്വസിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു, കണക്കാക്കപ്പെടുന്നു)

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