Brown bear attacks, damages car in Hokkaido

There has been another encounter between people and wild bears in Japan. This time, a brown bear attacked a vehicle in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido. The driver was unharmed.

Police say the driver of a minivehicle spotted a brown bear and what is believed to be its cub while driving on a road in the town of Bifuka on Tuesday evening.

Dashboard camera footage released by police shows the bears initially running away from the vehicle. As the vehicle was slowing to a stop, the large bear stood up and then rushed toward it. It repeatedly rammed its body into the hood before running away with the cub.

The bear was about 1.5 meters in height. Video shows dents, scratch marks and a hole in the vehicle's hood.

The encounter occurred near a brown bear habitat. Police are urging people to exercise caution when passing through the area.