In the urban area of Kitaakita City, Akita Prefecture, where five people were attacked by bears one after another, the prefectural government examined the bear droppings left at the scene and found that most of the contents were buckwheat nuts. The prefectural government is calling for countermeasures against the fact that bears are haunting human villages and eating buckwheat nuts and other crops that they do not normally eat, as beech nuts and other crops are failing in the mountains.
In Akita Prefecture, the number of people injured by being attacked by bears has reached 14 by the 69th, and the record number continues to be updated.
On October 10, five people, including a high school student who was waiting for a bus in the central city of Kitaakita City, were attacked and injured by bears one after another, but when the prefectural government examined the bear droppings left in the garage of the house at the site, it was found that most of the contents were buckwheat fruits grown in human villages.
According to Akita Prefecture, bears normally eat beech nuts in the mountains at this time of year, but due to poor harvests, they are thought to haunt human villages and eat buckwheat nuts and soybeans grown in the fields.
For this reason, the prefectural government is calling for measures such as enclosing fields near urban areas with electric fences and harvesting crops early.
The Akita Prefectural Nature Conservation Division said, "In addition to this bear, a large amount of buckwheat fruits have been confirmed in the stomachs of captured bears, and there is a risk that bears will settle around the fields, so we would like to call for appropriate management."