HOKKAIDO, May 07 (News On Japan) –
Bear sightings are rising throughout Japan sooner than traditional this yr, with a number of reviews of unusually massive and well-fed animals showing close to residential areas and vacationer places in the course of the May vacation interval, elevating considerations over public security and prompting requires heightened warning.
A large brown bear estimated to exceed 2 meters in size and weigh as a lot as 300 kilograms was noticed approaching a digicam in Okoppe, Hokkaido, on May 2nd, after rising from hibernation, showing unusually massive and well-fed, in a forest close to residential areas.
The bear, captured on video swaying its physique because it walked nearer, appeared strikingly sturdy for this time of yr, when bears usually emerge leaner after winter. Another digicam recorded the animal rubbing its again in opposition to a tree earlier than persevering with on, its bulk clearly seen because it moved.
The footage was taken by Tetsuya Kurosawa, who has spent 20 years observing brown bears within the area. Kurosawa estimated the bear’s physique size at between 1.8 and a pair of meters, with a weight of round 250 to 300 kilograms, describing it as exceptionally massive even by native requirements. He famous that whereas one or two significantly massive people are often recorded annually, this season has already seen three to 4 such bears.
Similar footage captured in April 2025 confirmed one other brown bear standing upright at effectively over 2 meters tall, underscoring the extraordinary dimension of those animals.
Kurosawa prompt that the bears could have grown unusually massive because of ample meals provides final yr, together with dent corn used for feed and grass from pasturelands, which can have allowed them to build up vital fats reserves earlier than hibernation. He added that this yr stands out for the variety of notably chubby people noticed.
During the latest vacation interval, bear sightings have surged throughout Japan. In Annaka, Gunma Prefecture, a bear was seen close to a lakeside forest on May fifth, whereas in Akita Prefecture, one other was filmed operating alongside a riverbank.
In Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, a bear was noticed feeding repeatedly for greater than 20 minutes in a forest, highlighting the rising variety of sightings involving closely feeding animals. At a ski resort in Nagano, a bear was additionally seen intently consuming tree nuts alongside a course-side forest.
Mizuki Takeuchi, a snowboarder who filmed the scene, mentioned the bear appeared fully targeted on consuming and confirmed little signal of alertness, including that it was persistently chewing on branches.
With it nonetheless solely May, authorities are urging heightened warning as bear exercise continues to extend throughout the nation.
Source: FNN