BROOKS FALLS, ALASKA - AUGUST 12: A brown bear scans a riverbank for salmon on August 12, 2023 near Brooks Falls, Alaska. The bears feast at the falls in large numbers between July and September, as millions of sockeye salmon swim upstream to spawn within the vast Katmai National Park and Preserve.
Authorities now deploy a mechanical wolf to prevent bears from accessing urban areas and assaulting people. The device was originally intended to keep wild animals away from farms.
According to Wolf Kamuy's president, Motohiro Miyasaka, the Monster Wolf debuted in Takikawa City in the fall of 2020. Since then, it has been mandated by a growing number of municipal governments, reported by BBC.
An Increase in Bear Attacks
Authorities in Japan report an alarming increase in the incidence of bear assaults.
According to experts, the primary cause is that residents of rural farming areas, particularly young people, are moving away. Many left small towns or villages already contracting due to an aging population and moved to large cities, leaving them desolate.
Young bears have subsequently wandered into untamed woodlands over the years, living closer to cities, becoming accustomed to bright lights and loud noises, and losing their fear of people. They are straying into residential areas because their habitat has moved from the mountains to the flatlands nearer to human settlements.
In Hokkaido's far north, vicious brown bears can be encountered. More than 150 bear assaults have occurred on Hokkaido during the previous 60 years. One of the bloodiest years on record, 2021 saw at least four fatalities and ten injuries.
Asian black bears populate the rest of Japan. They are less aggressive but no less dangerous because of the cream-colored crescent mark on their chests that identifies them.
Read also: Woman Dead Over Suspected Bear Attack Near Yellowstone Park
Human Population Decline While Bears Grow in Numbers
At a time when Japan's human population is aging and declining, the bear population is also growing in that country. According to government statistics, there are about 12,000 brown bears in the Hokkaido region, and about 10,000 Asian black bears, according to some specialists.
When bears emerge from their hibernation in April in search of food, then again in September and October when they consume to store fat for the winter, bear sightings and incidents are common. However, fatal assaults are uncommon.
Reduced acorn yields, the main food source for bears, have worsened the problem, possibly due to climate change.
Typically, acorn harvests follow a boom-and-bust cycle. A bumper harvest in the fall might portend a disappointing harvest the following year, and crop destruction from severe storms, which are more often now due to climate change, can make a bad year much worse.
Other effects of global warming may also be felt by oak trees. A 2015 study revealed that the disruption of pollination brought on by warmer temperatures may result in fewer acorn crops.
Because they typically blossom at the same time, oak trees can cross-pollinate more successfully.
However, due to global warming, warmer springtimes increase the blooming season and result in less synchronized flowering in oak trees. According to Tim Sparks, a professor at Coventry University and one of the study's authors, this can lower acorn harvests by roughly 20% in the autumn.
Even more, bears might enter people's backyards for food if subsequent low harvests continue. However, there is no obvious answer.
Poor Experience in Wildlife Management
According to Tsutomu Mano, a research biologist at the Hokkaido Research Organization who spoke with local media, the fundamental issue is that few government employees have experience managing wildlife, and government ministries don't work together to address the problem.
Authorities are unsure of how to handle the situation, Mr. Koike said, beyond instructing people on how to react during bear encounters and depending on an aging population of hunters.
Many attacks in the past occurred when people ventured far into bear habitats before the decline of rural populations and the dampened acorn harvests. But that has now been reversed.
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