This video shows a 330-kilogram brown bear being captured. It appears to have just emerged from hibernation, but has accumulated fat and is now over 2 meters long. Bear sightings are increasing across Japan. [TV Asahi NEWS]
“Grrr!” The giant bear leaped towards us and continued to roar. It repeatedly threatened us, slamming its body against the fence. It was about 2.2 meters long and, despite having just come out of hibernation, was plump and weighed 330 kilograms. The bear was captured in the Nagashima district of Tomamae Town in northern Hokkaido. The area is dotted with fields of wheat and dent corn. Bears appear there every year, and in 2026, there had already been multiple sightings near populated areas. A box trap was set a few days ago, and the bear was captured that night.
The captured giant bear was culled on April 27th. The local hunting association said… “We have never seen a bear this big in the spring.” In 2025, giant bears also repeatedly appeared in Tomamae Town, and a total of seven bears were culled, including one weighing around 400 kilograms. In 2026, it is believed that even more bears inhabit the surrounding area, and tensions will continue, but there are other towns that have been troubled by giant bears since spring… “It was hit five or six times, but it still didn’t die. I’ve never seen such a tenacious bear before,” said a hunter.
On the 26th, in Shimamaki Village, Shiribeshi, a 69-year-old male hunter who was culling bears was attacked and injured by a bear. “I heard on the radio that ‘another one has come out from above,'” and “it was on top of the man…” said the hunter. At the time, the man was in the mountains with his companions to cull spring bears. After culling two bears, another bear appeared above a stream, and when his companions fired, the bear tumbled down towards the man… “It was on top of him, so I waited for it to move away so that it wouldn’t harm the man, then I shouted to intimidate it and shot when it moved away,” and “I think it was fortunate that he was desperately defending himself,” said the hunter.
Although the man suffered injuries to his head and face, he survived. The bear was later culled, but it was a large individual weighing 280 kilograms. Why would a bear that is believed to have entered hibernation due to a food shortage in the mountains reappear in the spring weighing over 300 kilograms? “It is highly likely that this individual was able to hibernate well, not suffering from nutritional deficiencies, by going out into the fields to eat crops such as dent corn, regardless of the harvest in the mountains,” says Professor Kiwa Sato of Rakuno Gakuen University.
According to Professor Sato, bears generally lose 20-30% of their weight during hibernation. The bear in Tomamae may have weighed over 400 kilograms. Extra caution is needed at this time of year when hungry bears are active after emerging from hibernation. Despite the emergence of bears from hibernation, there have been a series of sightings of giant bears in Hokkaido. Normally, brown bears that appear in urban areas are mostly females with cubs or young males. However, the bear captured in Tomamae this time was a male adult weighing 330 kilograms. Generally, brown bears are said to lose 20-30% of their weight during hibernation, meaning that before hibernation, this bear was a “super-giant bear” weighing around 400 kilograms. In 2025, there was an extremely poor harvest of acorns and other nuts in the mountains, leading to a series of bear sightings in urban areas. So why were there such large individuals despite the poor harvest and supposedly scarce food?
Professor Sato analyzes that the reason is “there is a possibility that they ate crops in the fields before entering hibernation.” There are many fields of wheat and dent corn around the capture site, and it is highly likely that the bears stored nutrients from crops regardless of the abundance or scarcity of the mountain harvest. Regarding brown bear sightings this season,
Professor Sato predicts, “The abundance or scarcity of nuts tends to repeat every year, and this year’s harvest is expected to be better than last year’s. Because there is an abundance of food in the mountains, it will likely be a relatively quiet year for humans.” However, even if sightings decrease, we cannot be complacent. Professor Sato urges, “This year should be a year to advance preventative measures.” This is because, like the brown bears in Tomamae Town, there is a possibility that the number of bears that grow to enormous sizes and reproduce by feeding on crops in fields, regardless of the bounty in the mountains, is increasing.
He emphasized that concrete measures such as strengthening measures to prevent bears from entering fields and orchards, sharing the costs, and creating sustainable systems should be implemented by 2026. With more people going into the mountains for things like gathering wild vegetables at this time of year, sufficient bear countermeasures are necessary.
Yesterday (the 26th), a male hunter in his 60s was attacked and injured by a bear in Shimamaki Village, Shiribeshi. He was in the middle of a “spring management capture” to cull brown bears that had emerged from hibernation. One bear was seen lying on a slope. The bear, which was about 2 meters long and weighed about 280 kilograms, attacked the hunter.
The location where the hunter was attacked was at a point in the mountains off a prefectural road in Tomari, Shimamaki Village. At around 4:30 p.m. yesterday, Norihiko Takashima, a hunter from Shimamaki Village, was attacked by a bear while he was in the mountains for a “spring management capture” to cull brown bears that had emerged from hibernation. According to a hunter who was with him at the time, Takashima was attacked as if he was being covered by the bear.
Hunter Yuji Hanada, who was with Takashima at the time, said, “I think the bear hit him because he fired his gun. He was defending himself, so he was injured in the face, and there were bite marks on his thigh and ankle.” At the time, five hunters were working together and had already killed two bears. Then a third bear appeared, and they fired their guns from the top of the slope. The bear tumbled down, and when Takashima, who was at the bottom of the slope, fired a second shot, it attacked.
Hunter Yuji Hanada, who was with Takashima at the time, said, “We couldn’t shoot the attacking bear because there was a person inside. We just waited until the bear left, making noise and shouting, and it felt like a very long time from what I saw. I think it was probably about five minutes.”
The bear was later killed by the other hunters. Takashima was bleeding from his head and face, but he was conscious when he was transported to the hospital and is currently hospitalized. “Wow, it’s a real bear…it’s the real thing…” This footage was taken on a national highway in Tomamae town a little after 4 p.m. the day before yesterday.
Was it looking for food? A bear can be seen walking around a few meters from the road. The person who filmed the bear said, “I was so surprised. It was the first time I’d ever seen a wild bear, and it looked like it was digging in the soil, searching for something to eat.” At this time of year, after hibernation, bears are hungry and actively moving around in search of food. It is important to be extremely careful when going into the mountains.
Bears have been appearing repeatedly in residential areas. This past week, there have been a series of attacks on people, including a man in his 50s who was attacked and injured in Fukushima Prefecture. In Iwate Prefecture, a woman’s body was discovered five days ago, and a firefighter who was searching for her also encountered a bear. The program conducted an exclusive interview with this man, who recounted the tense events that led him to “punch the bear in the face.”
■ “Punch in the face”: The whole story of confronting a bear “It’s a bear. This is bad. A real bear. It’s the real deal” The bear was filmed on the 25th along a national highway in Tomamae Town, Hokkaido. It was about 1 meter long. It slowly made its way further into the distance, repeatedly turning to look at the person filming. “We’ve found a wild bear. It’s dangerous to go down, right?” “Yeah.” “It’s eating something. Wow, it’s the first time I’ve seen a wild bear. Oh, it’s eating.” It seemed to be wild vegetables… it was eating with single-minded focus. (Person who photographed the bear) “I think there were some new shoots growing. At the end, it was sitting down and eating something. It didn’t seem to be trying to run away, it was panicking. I thought it might be used to humans.”
In Akita too… “Oh, there it is. Eating grass. Oh, there it is.” On the 25th, a bear appeared at a nursing home in Akita City. This one appears to be eating grass. Perhaps sensing a human presence, it turns around and looks at the camera. “The door is closed, isn’t it? Scary, scary.” “Oh no, wait a minute. I can see it, from above. I’ll lock it, just the key, I’ve gone that way so I’ll lock it.” “Wow, what is that, is it an adult?” “It’s an adult. An adult.” A witness said… (Person who saw the bear) “Its rear end was about this big, and it was over 1 meter long. It’s worrying. It’s dangerous after all, isn’t it? When there’s food around…” Bears have already started appearing in residential areas. They are walking around leisurely. On the 26th, there were more injuries… In Fukushima City, at around 9:30 a.m., a man in his 50s was foraging for wild vegetables with his wife when he was attacked by a bear about 1 meter long. The man was bitten on both legs and other injuries and was taken to the hospital, but his life is not in danger. Also in Fukushima, on the 22nd, a Self-Defense Force member was attacked and injured by a bear…
In Iwate, on the 21st, a police officer was seriously injured when he was bitten on the face and arm by a bear. Near the scene, the body of a woman was discovered. It is said that there were wounds on her body that appeared to have been inflicted by an animal. The day before the body was discovered, a firefighter who was attacked by a bear in the same place recounted the tense events. Q. Did the bear come close to your face? (Local firefighter (44) who was attacked by the bear) “It came close, and the bear tried to attack like this, and it came like this, but I was already hitting it.”
Q. You landed a counterpunch? “Yes.” This happened when five firefighters were searching for the woman. (Local firefighter who was attacked by a bear) “I saw a light, and I thought it was the woman’s belongings that were shining, but then I saw the light moving from side to side. Basically, it was the bear’s eyes. While I was wondering what it was, I suddenly realized it was about 5 meters away, and I thought, ‘Oh no, it’s a bear,’ and the one in front of it was like this, and the one second in front was like, ‘Whoa, seriously, it’s a bear,’ and ran away, so the bear is going to chase the one that ran away. I thought it would be fine if I could just cover my face somehow, so I did this.” Q. So you punched it? “Yeah, I punched it.”
Q. So you punched the bear in the face? “Yeah, probably in the face.” The man who confronted the bear was a firefighter in his 30s. Apparently surprised by the counterattack, the bear quickly left the scene. (Local firefighter attacked by bear) “It only lasted a second. There was a flash of light 20 meters away, and a few seconds later it was only about 5 meters away, but I couldn’t hear the bear running or making any noise. It was scary, or rather, it was really dangerous. I thought I was done for.” Shiwa Town has declared a state of emergency and is urging caution. From ‘Udo Times’ April 26 [TV Asahi NEWS]
