- 18 Jan 2005
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The Shōwa village government has conducted drone patrols regularly since October. Based on the gathered data, the village has set up box traps along routes believed to be used by bears and has used speakers mounted on drones to shoo them away. [...] The company has previously used high-performance drones for infrastructure inspections and disaster response. This summer, the village of Shōwa began utilising drones in earnest to search for people who went missing in mountainous areas. NTT Docomo Business plans to further improve its drones for dealing with wild animals, such as enabling remote operation and equipping them with an automatic detection function powered by artificial intelligence.
There are several factors driving the surge in encounters. One is simply numbers. The population of the Hokkaido brown bear, one of two bear species in Japan, has more than doubled in the last 30 years, with nearly 12,000 of the animals now roaming the country's northernmost prefecture. The stocky cousins of the grizzly can stand nearly seven feet tall and are found only in Hokkaido.The other species, the Asiatic black bear, is smaller, reaching about five-and-a-half feet. But it's responsible for fatal attacks as well, particularly in northern prefectures such as Akita and Iwate. Experts say climate change is another factor. Poor harvests of nuts and fruit are pushing bears to seek food elsewhere.
The watch remained in the same spot all night but moved again at around 9 a.m. the next morning, traveling several hundred meters through the brush. This suggests the brown bear came back and dragged the man's body away, the Asahi said. Three days later, on 15 August, a bear with two cubs was spotted dragging his body in its mouth. All three animals were killed. A mound of earth made by the bear was found nearby and traces of the man — who was engaged to be married — were discovered, the report added. The victim's parents were asked to identify the body, but police asked them only to look at his face because of the extent of injuries.
However, the Monster Wolf weighs 20 kilograms and serves mainly as a stationary device. Ohta Seiki has seen increased demand for a smaller, portable version from construction firms, surveyors working in the mountains, and camping enthusiasts. Development of a plush version began last fall. Just like the original, the Monster Wolf Mini can generate over 50 different sounds, including gunshots and human speech. The Monster Wolf Mini is battery-powered, and the wireless remote can be used from 10 to 20 meters away. The plush body will be made by a company in Bibai, a city in Hokkaido, while production of the internal electronics will be outsourced. The price of the Monster Wolf Mini has yet to be determined, though Ohta Seiki aims to sell it for under 10,000 yen ($65), said company President Yuji Ohta.
Why are sightings occurring so frequently despite the hibernation season? Takanori Yamauchi, associate professor at the Faculty of Agriculture at Iwate University, said: "This is normally a period when bears are hibernating, so sightings at this time are extremely rare. It is an abnormal situation not seen in typical years. The end of hibernation is said to be strongly influenced by rising temperatures and snowmelt. If spring arrives earlier, bears may awaken sooner than we expect." Yamauchi added that nuts and other food sources in the mountains have not yet fully developed, raising the possibility that bears may descend into residential areas in search of food, and he urged the public to remain cautious.
While there have been no bear sightings at the Oriental Paperbush and Fringed Iris Forest in Ayabe, the residents' group "Suigen no Sato Oitomi," which manages the site, decided to prioritise safety. Explaining the reason for the closure this year, group head Shogo Sakai said, "Bear sightings have not subsided nationwide. We're elderly and wouldn't be able to respond if something happened. And we can't implement countermeasures." The local community centre's toilets and rest area will also be shut.
Hachioji municipal government confirmed on Tuesday that a bear had been sighted in the city last month. The sighting occurred near an elementary school and a residential area. The city government urged caution and set up a trap to catch the bear. According to the city, a resident, who checked a sensor camera set up near the trap at the forest south of Hachioji Shiroyama elementary school, said it captured an image of the bear roaming around the trap on April 29. Experts confirmed that it was an adult bear over 1 meter long.
THEY ARE GETTING CLOSER! My bet is the first sighting in Tokyo's 23 wards will be around 2035.A bear was confirmed in Hachioji, Tokyo, last April. While technically Tokyo, it is actually quite a rural area. Shiroyama and its water reservoir are popular cycling destinations.
For prices starting from around $4,000 or higher, the system comes with a battery, solar panels, sensors, speakers and other apparatus. It broadcasts more than 50 kinds of recorded sounds, including human voices and electronic noises, audible up to one kilometer away.The device turns its head from side to side, flashes red LED eyes, while its tail is equipped with blue LEDs. Ohta introduced the product in 2016 to prevent damage to agricultural products by deer, boars and bears, and it was initially derided as a gimmick. The company is now upgrading the device by putting it on wheels to chase animals or patrol specific paths.
The man sustained injuries to his arms and head and was airlifted to hospital by a fire department helicopter. Authorities said his injuries are serious. The bear fled the scene following the attack, and its size and other characteristics remain unknown. Okutama Town has installed traps to capture bears and is continuing patrols in cooperation with police. Authorities are urging hikers to carry bear bells or radios while climbing in the area.
The body was first spotted last Thursday by an off-duty police officer hiking in the Nippara area of Okutama. Tokyo police and the local hunters' association searched the area and found it around 100 meters from the hiking trail, around 1 p.m. Tuesday. A backpack and trekking poles were found some distance away.
The saga began on the morning of June 2, when the bear mauled four people ranging in age from their 20s to 80s in the city's Sasakino district. It entered the factory and was cornered there for over 24 hours. Around 10:50 p.m. on June 3, police officers spotted the animal climbing over the factory's west gate. Another sighting was reported nearby just before 11 p.m. According to the city, the bear fled after officials turned off the lights in the room in an attempt to lure it to a trap. The animal is believed to have opened a window in the factory to escape, one of a number of instances underscoring the bear's intelligence. During the standoff, for example, the bear was seen turning on a water faucet to drink. A tranquilizer dart that hit the bear on June 2 failed to take effect. Officials later found the dart in a factory room with its anesthetic still inside. This suggests the equipment malfunctioned or the bear had quickly dislodged it.
Yogi Bear's 'smarter than the average bear' comes to mind!
FamilyMart official Ehashi Tomoaki said the company had not previously had a way to keep bears from approaching stores. "The key point is to install the device so bears do not come near," Ehashi said. A person working nearby said the store is an important part of daily life in the mountain area. "It is important that people can go shopping there with peace of mind," the person said. The trial will run for seven months.
Footage shows a large brown bear approaching a box trap and showing interest in bait inside. The bear gently touches the trap with a front paw, then quickly pulls away, making movements that clearly suggest caution, almost as if it understands the danger. The footage of the bear, believed to weigh more than 200 kilograms, was filmed around autumn 2025 in Nishiokoppe, a village in northern Hokkaido. Shinichi Nakahara, head of the Nishiokoppe branch of the local hunters' association, said the animals are cunning and highly intelligent. "They are crafty, or rather, smart. They learn, so if they have had an experience before, they are not likely to go into a trap," Nakahara said. In the summer of the same year, another bear, believed to be a different individual, appeared in a field of feed corn. After approaching an electric fence, the bear began digging a hole. It then used the hole to quickly pass under the fence, suggesting it may have learned how the electric barrier works.
One bear "came inside, right where my father happened to be sleeping," Yuta Matsubara told a Japanese news outlet. "He noticed the bear, turned around, and shouted loudly, causing it to go back outside." The bear came back later to try again, which was captured on video. In other instances, bears entered three homes in the prefecture and in some cases raided fridges and pantries for food, according to the local daily newspaper Kahoku Shimpo.