AKITA, Oct 25 (News On Japan) - A 38-year-old man was killed on October 24th in the village of Higashinaruse, Akita Prefecture, after attempting to rescue a couple in their seventies who were being attacked by a bear.
The number of people killed by bears in Japan this fiscal year has now reached ten, marking the highest figure since records began. In Toyama Prefecture, a woman in her seventies was also severely injured when attacked in her home garden, suffering facial fractures.
The incident in Akita occurred around 11 a.m., about 500 meters from the Higashinaruse village office, in an area with several houses and farmland. According to local firefighters, a report was received that a person was being attacked by a bear. When a couple in their seventies were working outdoors, a bear appeared and mauled them. Two men rushed to help, but the bear reportedly turned on them as well before disappearing into the nearby forest.
All four victims were taken to a hospital. Among them, Yoshiyuki Sasaki, 38, who had come to the couple’s aid, later died from hypoxic brain injury caused by facial trauma. Sasaki’s father and the elderly couple were also seriously injured, suffering head wounds and other injuries. The bear was later hunted and killed by a local hunting association.
A hunter involved in the culling said, “It’s almost unthinkable that a bear would be resting behind a tree in such a noisy area. Either the environment has changed, or we’ve entered a very dangerous phase.”
Authorities are investigating whether the bear that attacked the four people is the same one involved in other recent incidents.
Meanwhile, in Tateyama, Toyama Prefecture, a woman in her seventies pruning trees in her garden was attacked by a bear. She suffered deep facial lacerations and multiple fractures. A nearby resident who witnessed the aftermath said, “She was staggering and holding her face, bleeding heavily. I was about to call out to warn her to go inside, but she had already been attacked.”
Shortly before the attack, two adult bears had been sighted behind nearby houses. Another witness said, “It was around noon, so I thought it would be fine to go outside. I was shocked—it was huge. There’s no way I can go for a walk now. It’s terrifying.”
In Yamagata Prefecture’s Oguni Town, a surveillance camera captured a bear breaking into a chicken coop early on October 21st. The footage shows the bear tearing through a wire fence and swiftly attacking chickens, even reacting instantly to movement behind it. The victims were “Yamagata Jidori,” a local brand of chicken. Out of 36 birds, 34 were killed. On October 23rd, another coop in the same town was raided, bringing the total number of birds killed to nearly 200.
In Sapporo, where sightings of brown bears have increased in city parks, another bear was spotted around 12:30 p.m. on October 24th. Determining that there was “immediate danger to residents and no way to eliminate it except by shooting,” the city authorized emergency hunting, allowing hunters to fire on the animals. Two brown bears were killed, marking the first time Hokkaido has implemented such an emergency measure.
As autumn progresses and bears become more active in preparation for hibernation, authorities are urging residents to remain extremely cautious.
Source: TBS
