Bear sightings triple in northeast amid food shortage
News On Japan via Japan Times -- Jul 30
Bear sightings in the northeast more than tripled to 628 this spring as food became scarce, an Environment Ministry survey says.
As a result of heavy snow last winter, "the season for wild vegetables came about one to two months later than last year, and the bears may have approached human dwellings seeking food," an Aomori Prefecture official said.
The sightings in the six northern prefectures are about 3.3 times more than last year, the survey results released Saturday said.
Source: Japan Times
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