Damaged by bears 138 people nationwide since April Worst pace ever

Damaged by bears 138 people nationwide since April The worst pace ever at 16:20 on November 10

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Amid a series of injuries caused by black bears nationwide, the number of people who have been damaged since April is close to 154 last year, the highest number since the country began collecting statistics. , I found that there are 138 people.

This is the worst pace ever, surpassing the same period last year, and since damage continues this month, experts and others are calling for caution and thorough countermeasures.

(The video shows bears that haunted various places from last month to this month.)

When NHK interviewed 33 prefectures nationwide where black bears were confirmed to appear, 138 people in 21 prefectures were injured by being attacked by bears since April, of which 2 A person has died.

Last year, the number was 154, the highest since the Ministry of the Environment began collecting statistics, but as of the end of last month, it was already 9 more than the same period last year, and the damage is occurring at the worst pace ever. It will be.

By prefecture, Iwate had the highest number with 28, Niigata with 16 (1 died), Ishikawa with 14, Fukui with 12, Nagano with 10, Akita with 9 (1 died), and Fukushima with 9. And so on.

The damage was 28 in August and 25 in September, but it increased rapidly to 44 last month, and even this month, 10 people in 7 prefectures have been damaged one after another.

Professor Toru Oi of Ishikawa Prefectural University, who is familiar with the ecology of bears, said, "It is possible that this year we have suffered from a more serious mountain food shortage than last year. Until next month, when the bear sleeps, it is necessary to continue to take thorough measures such as removing the persimmon fruit near the house and cutting the grass in the bush. "

Haunting one after another even in the center of the city

This year, infestations in the center of the city are occurring one after another.

A bear invaded a shopping center in Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture on the 19th of last month, and a bear appeared in a commercial area in Fukui City last month and was captured 6 hours after its discovery.

Why do bears appear in places away from the mountains?

Professor Oi points out, "In many cases, bears are likely to hide themselves and come through rivers and irrigation canals where bear food is also growing."

Measures focusing on "rivers"

Under these circumstances, measures focusing on rivers have begun to prevent them from appearing in the center.

In Ono City, Fukui Prefecture, when sightings are received from the two rivers that flow from the mountain to the city, city officials and members of the Hunting Club go straight to the scene and set up a cage to catch the bear.

More than half of the 50 bears caught in the city last year were caught on the riverbed, which stopped the bears from advancing to the center.

A person in charge of Ono City said, "Bears may suddenly pop out into the town through rivers and irrigation canals, so in order to prevent personal injury, we are trying not to enter the city from the river. I will. "

Efforts to quickly find with the latest technology

Efforts have also begun to quickly find bears coming to the city using the latest technology and to prevent human damage.

A small unmanned aerial vehicle drone is used as a countermeasure against bears in Ishikawa Prefecture.

At Yamashiro Onsen, a tourist destination in Kaga City, people were attacked by bears and injured one after another this season, and bears invaded the shopping center and the store could not be opened.

Under these circumstances, on the 8th of this month, a patrol from the sky using a drone began.

You can check the video in real time from a height of 80 meters above the area between the mountains and the city during the time of commuting to work and school every morning.

In addition to the normal camera, the drone is also equipped with an infrared camera, which means that it can detect temperature changes and detect bears hidden behind trees.

Kei Yamada, General Manager of the Economic and Environmental Affairs Department of Kaga City, said, "By observing from the sky, you can patrol a wide area in a short time. I want to strengthen the alert on the ground and protect the safety of the residents."

In Ishikawa Prefecture, patrols using drones are also being carried out in Kanazawa City, and in Komatsu City, cameras that detect the movement of animals with heat and automatically notify the person in charge of the local government are installed in the area where bears continue to appear. The latest technology is being used in the field of bear countermeasures.

Haunting measures "zoning" is also an important issue

On the other hand, in order to fundamentally prevent infestation, it is important to take a measure called "zoning" that separates the habitat of bears from the habitat of humans, but since it requires the cooperation and burden of local residents, the initiative is The reality is that there are differences depending on the region.

In Kawada-cho, Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture, an electric fence was installed on the 31st of last month to prevent the infestation of bears over 600 meters from the mountainside.

The installation work was carried out on weekends because 16 residents of the area participated and many people have work on weekdays, but it took three and a half hours to put up a fence on the slope of the mountain, and it was physically difficult work. Participants commented, "It's quite difficult" and "I have a little pain in my legs."

However, this is not the end, and it is necessary for the residents to cooperate and regularly inspect whether the fence has fallen or the grass has grown after installation.

Mr. Kazuhiro Nomura, the mayor of the local ward who visited the residents' houses one by one and called for the installation of an electric fence, said, "In order for everyone to be safe and secure, how will we share the inspection work in the future? It's an issue. "

Survey to 33 prefectures Regional differences in countermeasures may increase damage

Interviews with 33 prefectures where the infestation of Asian black bears has been confirmed also highlights the difficulty of local residents taking measures to prevent the infestation of bears as the population ages and declines.

Of the 31 prefectures that answered that they are "working" on measures to prevent infestation, 19 are promoting specific support measures such as cutting persimmon trees that attract bears and subsidizing the mowing of bushes. It was the prefecture of.

When asked about the implementation status of measures to these 19 prefectures, 13 prefectures, which is 68%, answered that "there are differences depending on the region" and "there are many regions that have not progressed".

As for the reasons, 6 prefectures answered that "there is a difference in the awareness of the residents" and 5 prefectures answered that "it is difficult to obtain regional cooperation due to the declining birthrate and aging population".

Professor Oi said, "If there is a difference in countermeasures between areas where bears are infested, it is possible that bears will concentrate in areas where no countermeasures are taken and the damage will be greater. Looking at the results this time, that It seems that awareness is not widespread, so the government should work on financial and technical support and dissemination of the actual situation in order to proceed with the measures. "