— By Andru Shively — 

In response to a series of bear encounters, some fatal, in Japan’s Tochigi prefecture earlier this summer, local police and members of a hunters’ association unveiled a dramatic safety drill. In the demonstration given last week to residents of the town of Nikko, as reported by multiple sources, a man crudely costumed in black and a rubber bear mask performed a mock attack on another actor before ultimately being fended off and subdued.

Bearing down on his role, the man is seen in a recording of the event moving on all fours as he gives chase to the victim wearing a shirt stained in fake blood. The simulation continues as the bear-man is scared off with firecrackers and then “shot” by a hunter with a tranquiliser gun, after which officers approach with riot shields and mancatchers – bearcatchers, rather – prodding the limp manimal for good measure.

Heroes come in many forms, but all bear great responsibility. To echo another dressed-in-black crusader: “The mask is not for you. It’s to protect the people you care about.”