A 26-year-old man was found dead on Mount Rausu in eastern Hokkaido, Japan on Friday, one day after he was reported missing following a brown bear attack.
Japan Forward reports the victim, Sota Keisuke, a company employee from Tokyo’s Sumida Ward, was descending the 5,450-foot mountain on the Shiretoko Peninsula with a friend when the incident occurred. The friend reported that Keisuke was walking ahead when a bear approached and dragged him into the forest. The friend alerted police who to closed the trail and evacuated 71 people from the area using helicopters. Rescuers found Keisuke’s bloodstained shirt on Thursday and his body was discovered Friday morning.
In the search effort, hunters killed three brown bears in the area where Keisuke’s body was found. Mount Rausu, part of a World Heritage Site designated in 2005, has a high population density of brown bears and straddles Rausu and Shari towns on Hokkaido, Japan’s second-largest but least-developed main island.
In a separate incident on Sunday, a 68-year-old climber from Shikoku encountered an adult bear with two cubs while descending Mount Rausu. The hiker, roughly 16 feet from the bears retreated from the area but the animals followed them uphill before disappearing near the Osawa area entrance.
Japan’s Environmental Ministry reported 55 bear attacks between April and July this year. Experts note that bear attacks surged last year due to a scarcity of acorns and other food sources, driving bears closer to human areas amid ongoing development. However, incidents dropped in March as food became more plentiful. In response to rising encounters, the government permitted bear culls in urban areas starting in April.
The Hokkaido Prefectural Government advises that if people encounter a bear, they should slowly and quietly step backward, avoiding actions like throwing rocks, shouting, or running, which may provoke the animal.
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