Japan village told to ‘take precautions’ as rare bear sightings trigger memory of grisly 1915 attack
- A large bear was spotted near the northern hamlet of Sankebetsu, where a brown bear killed seven locals in an infamous rampage in December 1915
- Experts say bears have become less afraid of humans due to a decline in hunters, and the ‘easy availability of prey’ has drawn some out of hibernation early
Sightings of a very large bear in northwest Hokkaido have triggered alarm in remote communities that have become synonymous with the worst bear attack incident in Japanese history.
There have been multiple sightings of a brown bear, estimated to be around 2 metres from nose to tail, just a few kilometres from the hamlet of Sankebetsu, where a brown bear killed seven local residents and injured three more in an infamous six-day rampage in December 1915.
The incident has been immortalised in television series, film and manga, and is widely believed to have been the worst confrontation between animals and human settlers in Japanese history.
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Dogs ‘hunt’ for bears in Japan to protect them from human threats
The town employees said they saw the bear eating what appeared to be a deer, and on another occasion, burying a kill. There have also been numerous reports of bear tracks in the thick snow, including close to one house on the outskirts of Obira.