A Japanese bear was shot dead in a parking lot of an apartment complex Monday morning after wandering into a residential area in Tarui, Gifu Prefecture, police said.
The female bear, believed to be about 3 years old, was initially mistaken by a local resident for a black dog, police said.
About 75 minutes after the bear was first spotted in the parking lot, Tarui town officials and local hunters determined it would be impossible to catch her with a net so they decided to kill her.