HYOGO –
Hyogo Prefecture is warning of an elevated threat of Asiatic black bears coming into residential areas this autumn as a poor crop of acorns and different nuts leaves the animals looking extra broadly for meals earlier than hibernation.
Prefectural officers held a gathering on September 11 to debate measures to forestall bear-related accidents and different harm because the animals enter a season of elevated exercise and the autumn journey season approaches.
Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito mentioned surveys of this yr’s acorn crop point out an total poor harvest, elevating the probability that bears will transfer into populated areas in quest of meals earlier than hibernating.
“Surveys of this year’s acorn crop show that overall it is a poor harvest, so we expect more cases of bears appearing in populated areas in search of acorns and other food before hibernation,” Saito mentioned.
Concern over bear encounters has additionally grown in neighboring Kyoto Prefecture.
Two Asiatic black bears believed to be a mom and cub appeared in Maizuru on September 3, startling residents after all of a sudden coming into a residential space.
One resident mentioned the cub had leapt over an impediment, including that the sudden look had been horrifying.
Authorities carried out Kyoto Prefecture’s first emergency firearms cull, killing the bears.
Another bear sighting was subsequently reported in Maizuru, with a close-by resident saying a cub roughly the identical measurement because the one seen beforehand had appeared. Authorities have but to find the animal.
Officials are urging higher warning as bears grow to be extra energetic within the weeks earlier than hibernation and meals shortages enhance the potential for encounters close to properties and different populated areas.
Source: YOMIURI