Bears are coming out of hibernation across Japan, and with one fatal incident already reported in April, local municipalities are warning residents to prepare in case of attack.
As of the end of April, one death caused by a bear was confirmed by the Environment Ministry, in which a woman was found dead on April 21 in the town of Shiwa, Iwate Prefecture.
It was the first time in five years that a fatal bear attack was reported in April. Last year, the first death was reported in June.
Typically, bears come out of hibernation around the end of March and are active until around November and?December. The number of attacks tends to be the highest around October as they prepare for hibernation.
However, since the bears are fresh out of their hibernation in the spring, they are also prone to roaming around for food.
This year, there have already been four cases where what is known as an emergency culling with firearms has been deployed in the country. The government last year launched the new system, which allows local authorities to give permission to hunters to fire in residential areas in cases of bear sightings.
Some of the culling took place in major cities such as Sendai. A bear had been staying on the grounds of an apartment complex for hours, and Sendai authorities culled it after attempts to capture the animal with a cage trap failed.
Local municipalities have issued warnings against possible altercations with bears, warning residents to take extra precautions, such as refraining from leaving outside of their homes any garbage, livestock feed or any other items that bears could be attracted to.
On April 10, the Akita Prefectural Government raised the bear sightings advisory to a warning ¡ª which occurs when the number of bear sightings increases, meaning the risks of a bear attack are considered to be higher ¡ª calling on residents to be on extra alert between April 14 to May 31 as an increase in bear sightings is to be expected.
Aomori Prefecture issued a warning on April 20 following 15 cases of bear sightings reported across five days, the earliest since they started issuing such warnings in 2019. Last year, the warning was issued on May 1.
Yamagata Prefecture also issued an advisory ahead of Golden Week ¡ª a time when more people venture into the mountains for activities such as camping ¡ª reminding visitors to keep in mind that in the forests, ¡°humans are the intruders, from the bears¡¯ perspectives.¡±
Last year marked the highest number of bear-related incidents on record?with 238 reports, of which 13 were fatal.
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