YAMAGATA, Nov 08 (News On Japan) - A 1.2-meter bear was shot and killed just before noon on November 8th at a hot spring inn in Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture, after entering the building overnight and causing extensive damage.
Endo Naoki, head of Yonezawa City’s Civic and Environmental Department, said the emergency hunting order was issued at 11:49 a.m. “When the team entered, the bear was immediately in sight, and a shot was fired at 11:49,” he explained.
The incident occurred at Namekawa Onsen Fukushima-ya, a 200-year-old traditional inn. It is believed the bear had entered the premises the night before.
Inside the first-floor kitchen, pots and seasonings were scattered across the floor, and sliding doors were torn apart. “Every refrigerator door was opened—it was terrible,” said Fukushima-ya’s owner, Kazuo Sasaki. “We’ve had bears around before, but this is the first time one has come inside. It was truly frightening.”
Three members of the owner’s family were in the building at the time but were unharmed.
On the same day in Omachi, Nagano Prefecture, cameras captured another bear encounter near a JR station, where hunters and police used tranquilizer guns to subdue a 50-centimeter cub.
According to a JNN survey, bear-related attacks nationwide have left 13 people dead and 206 injured this year, with Akita Prefecture reporting the highest number of cases. In Happo, Akita, a major local event scheduled for November 9th was canceled due to safety concerns. “We had poured our efforts into organizing this first-ever event,” said Yujiro Hosoda, a town official. “It’s very disappointing, but safety comes first.”
In response to the growing threat, convenience store chain Lawson has distributed bear spray to about 100 of its stores in Hokkaido, Tohoku, and northern Kanto, where bear sightings are frequent.
Experts warn that as bears increasingly enter human spaces, one critical warning sign should not be ignored—their cries.
Footage from Akita City on November 3rd showed a bear roaming through a residential area, emitting cat-like cries. “Bears generally don’t make sounds,” said Takayoshi Yamauchi, associate professor at Iwate University’s Faculty of Agriculture. “But high-pitched cries, similar to a cat or dog, are usually made by cubs calling for their mother.”
These calls can indicate that a mother bear is nearby and searching frantically for her cub, a situation that poses serious danger to humans who may inadvertently come between them. Mother bears are known to become especially aggressive and protective in such situations.
Yamauchi advises that if one hears a cub’s cry, the first step is to locate the mother from a safe distance. “If you happen to come between a mother and her cub, she could attack suddenly,” he said. “Always observe carefully, keep your distance by moving backward, and be prepared to use bear spray if necessary.”
Source: TBS
