Bear attacks in Japan have reached record numbers this year, as 212 people were attacked between April and early December. According to the Guardian, 30 people were attacked in the month of November alone. This is the first time attacks have exceeded 200 in a single year.
Six people were killed in bear attacks within the past year, with one individual being killed by a 1.5-meter (~5 feet) tall bear in Hokkaido. The second highest year, 2020, saw only 158 reported bear attacks.
A lack of natural foods, including a poor beech nut crop, has forced bears further and further out of their natural habitats, and their hunger means many bears may continue to forage through the winter months. While some may have begun hibernating earlier, other’s are likely to keep wandering despite the cold weather.
“The borders between humans and bears have blurred as forested areas expand and arable land is abandoned as a result of depopulation and other developments.” – Akita Prefectural University professor Kazuhiko Hoshizaki
Additionally, Japan’s bear population has skyrocketed throughout the past decades. In 2012, estimates excluding Hokkaido had the population around 15,000. A recent estimate in 2023 put the current population closer to 44,000. In Hokkaido specifically, populations have more than doubled since 1990, with a current estimate sitting around 12,000.
There are just two types of bears in Japan, the Asiatic black bear and the Ussuri brown bear. In the United States, there are an average of just 11 bear attacks per year. Throughout 2023, four U.S. attacks were fatal, with one being a black bear attack, one being a polar bear attack, and two being grizzly bear attacks.
Related: Japanese Town Uses Horrifying Robot Wolves To Scare Off Bears
Featured Image Credit: Captain76, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
