By KOKI FURUHATA/ Staff Writer
December 4, 2024 at 17:30 JST
A “higuma” brown bear looking for food in a coastal area of Rausu, Hokkaido, in September 2023. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
SAPPORO--A record 1,804 “higuma” brown bears were captured or hunted in Hokkaido in fiscal 2023, prefectural authorities said.
The figure was about 1.9 times that of the previous fiscal year. Figures on bear sightings began to be collected in fiscal 1962.
Officials on Dec. 3 blamed a paucity of acorns in mountain forests and other foods that bears feast on at this time of year for the high number of “problematic individual bears” that caused agricultural damage.
The prefectural government has drawn up a manual for each municipality to help identify problematic individual bears, prevent damage and keep people safe.
Problematic bears are captured year-round.
Of the 1,804 bears, 746 were female. Officials said 1,684 were captured as a result of crop damage and other reasons, and 120 were hunted.
In fiscal 2022, officials said 897 bears were captured due to crop damage and other reasons, and 43 were hunted.
The increase in the number of bears was attributed to the fact they are foraging for food in wider areas as winter sets in.
“They are more likely to be seen by people now that food is not available and their range of activities has expanded,” an official said. “They are appearing more frequently and there are more opportunities to capture them.”
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