Latest news with #wildbear
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Hiker Found Dead after Bear Attack in Japan Forest
A hiker attacked by a wild brown bear was found dead in northern Japan on Friday, officials said, a day after the bloody encounter that reportedly saw him dragged into a forest. The hiker in his 20s tried to fight off the large animal but was pulled into the nearby woods with his legs bleeding profusely, local media outlets including the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said. The man was attacked while walking a trail on Mount Rausu on the northern island of Hokkaido on Thursday morning, a local police spokesman told AFP. On Friday afternoon, he was found and taken to a hospital where he was officially pronounced dead, according to a Hokkaido government official. Hunters also caught and killed a bear near the trail, an official working for Shari town -- where the mountain is -- told AFP. DNA analysis will be conducted to determine whether the bear was responsible for the victim's death. A wallet containing a card that bore the man's name was found near the scene of the encounter in the northeastern part of Hokkaido, according to media. A torn, bloodied shirt believed to be his was also found Friday, with nearby trees and soil dotted with traces of blood, Kyodo news agency said, quoting police. Among other discovered items were a watch, a hat and what appeared to be tear gas, Kyodo said. The number of brown bears in Hokkaido fell year-on-year in 2023 for the first time since 1991, according to estimates released this month. There were about 11,600 at the end of 2023, down 500 from a year earlier. The Hokkaido government cited unprecedented hunting of brown bears, with a record 1,804 caught in the 12 months to March 2024.
Japan Times
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Japan insurer to launch policy linked to bear culling
Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance said Thursday that it will sell to local governments a policy to cover property damage caused by bullets fired during wild bear extermination. The move comes as the revised wildlife protection and management law, which allows local governments to use firearms at their discretion to cull dangerous wild animals in residential neighborhoods, is set to take effect in September. The law revision is designed to cope with an increase in cases in which wild bears appearing in human habitats attack people and cause damage to properties. The insurance policy will cover up to ¥30 million in compensation local governments pay for damage to buildings, vehicles and other properties from bullets fired to kill bears or other wild animals, including stray rounds, according to Tokio Marine. The insurance premium will be set for each local government according to the number of sightings of bears, boars and other animals. Human injuries from such bullets will not be covered by the policy.
