Japan sent troops on Wednesday to help quell a significant rise in bear attacks that have stoked fears among residents in a mountainous community in the northern prefecture of Akita, according to The Associated Press. Human encounters with brown bears and Asiatic black bears have reportedly turned fatal in some instances as hibernation season approaches and bears are on the hunt for food.
More than 100 attacks since April
Bears have been reported near schools, train stations, grocery stores and a resort.
Since spring, more than 100 attacks have been reported, with at least a dozen people killed in encounters across Japan, as reported by Reuters.
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The growing number of bears is causing some to roam into populated areas with aging residents, where few people are trained to hunt animals. There are reportedly more than 54,000 bears in Japan.
The Japanese government stated that population control efforts need to be implemented and recommended that local authorities be trained as “government hunters” to help eliminate bears that pose a threat to humans. They assert that a lack of bear population control measures in the northern regions of the country has contributed to an increase in human-bear encounters.
As a result, the Japanese government also announced a task force last week that will establish an official response to the bear problem by mid-November. Officials also say the effort may involve surveys of the bear population, issuing bear warnings via communication devices and changing hunting rules to reduce the number of bear encounters and attacks.
Akita’s local authorities growing ‘desperate’
In a separate move, Japanese military officials and the Akita prefecture signed an agreement on Wednesday to send troops to the region, who will set up traps with bait, transport local hunters and facilitate the disposal of bear carcasses. According to officials, the troops will not use firearms to kill the bears.
Akita’s governor says local law enforcement had grown “desperate” as they lacked the resources to deal with the growing bear problem.
Troops have begun bear removal operations in a forested region in Kazuno city, where multiple bear sightings and injuries have been documented. The soldiers were equipped with bulletproof vests, bear spray and net launchers near an orchard, per the AP.
Akita deployment is a temporary measure
Japanese officials emphasized that the operation to control the bear population and restore normalcy to people’s lives is temporary. They noted that soldiers’ main purpose is for national defense and that the defense forces are already undermanned. The nation’s defense ministry said that it had not received requests from other prefectures for military assistance over the bear problem.
In Akita, which has a population of roughly 880,00 people, more than 50 people have been attacked by bears since May, with four of those encounters resulting in deaths, according to local authorities. Most of the reported incidents occurred in residential areas.
