Bears delaying hibernation due to food access in Japan’s residential areas: Expert
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A sign with a bear warns 'do not enter', near a chicken coop in Sunagawa, Hokkaido Prefecture on Oct 17.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TOKYO - Bears that have learnt to find food in residential areas tend to delay hibernation, an expert said, urging the public to take thorough measures to remove things that attract such as abandoned persimmon trees amid continued bear sightings and human casualties
In the early hours of Dec 4, a couple delivering newspapers in central Japan’s Toyama Prefecture were injured in a bear attack and taken to a hospital.
Later the same day, a woman in her 60s was clawed by a bear in Iwate Prefecture in north-eastern Japan.
While most bears are believed to have begun hibernation with the arrival of December, 10 bears have been killed this month as at Dec 17 in Iwate, Niigata, Toyama and Yamagata prefectures through “emergency shootings” commissioned by local municipalities, the Environment Ministry said.
A city official in Tokamachi, Niigata Prefecture, who shot and killed a bear on Dec 2, cautioned, “Last year, the city received its last report of a bear sighting in November. This year, however, bears have continued to be spotted in December.”
“Bears start hibernation after realising there is no food in the mountains, rather than when temperatures drop,” explained Mr Naoki Onishi, a team leader of animal ecology and genetics at the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute.
“Individual bears that are currently active have learned that there is still food in human dwellings. With food available, bears are slow to enter hibernation,” Mr Onishi said.
He also noted that the number of bears hibernating near residential areas is increasing as their habitats expand, while some bears have been seen emerging from their dens after being startled by noises because their sleep is shallow during hibernation.
Considering the high number of bears captured since spring, Mr Onishi said cubs left to survive alone could be spotted in residential areas and elsewhere because they have yet to learn how to hibernate. KYODO NEWS
