It’s bearly believable.
Japan is in the midst of a wave of deadly bear attacks, with seven people killed and 88 others mauled in the deadliest month for such incidents in the nation’s history, according to reports.
The Land of the Rising Sun’s Environment Ministry reported the record-high October figures that capped off a six month period, beginning in April, that saw a total of 12 people killed and 196 mauled by bears, NHK reported.
The incidents have occurred in 21 of the country’s 47 prefectures and have spread from mostly rural areas to now plaguing urban centers.
One shocking video taken by a security camera in Daisen, a city of 76,000 people, showed an 82-year-old woman attacked from behind while casually crossing the street on a morning walk on Oct. 11, according to NTV News.
She was treated at a local hospital for cuts on her face, the outlet reported.
On Oct. 17, a 60-year-old spa worker and women’s professional wrestling referee Katsumi Sasazaki was mauled to death while cleaning an outdoor bath along a river in Iwate, in the northern part of the nation’s large island, Asahi Shimbun reported.
Two people were hurt in a grocery store in central Tokyo on Oct. 8 after a black bear broke in looking for food, CBS News reported.
Further south, in Miyagi prefecture, one unidentified woman was attacked and killed while picking mushrooms on Oct. 4, The Japan Times reported.
The Asiatic black bears are suffering from a shortage of beech nuts, a main food source, which is sending them to aggressively seek sustenance from other sources — including grocery stores.
The onslaught of attacks has resulted in the United States embassy in Tokyo issuing a wildlife alert warning that avoid areas of bear sightings.
Research group Fukazawa Labs created a “Bear Encounter AI Prediction Map,” which charts bear sightings and attacks and forecasts which areas are most likely to have the aggressive beasts.
Japan deployed the military to the parts of the country’s mountainous northern region on Nov. 5 in an effort to cull the bears.
In 2024, Japan had 219 bear attacks and just six deaths total, The Japan Times reported.
