Amidst sightings of a mother bear and her cub in Tokyo, a woman who was attacked by one recounts the terrifying moment. [TV Asahi NEWS]
Around 1 p.m. on the 19th, a body of unknown sex was found in the mountains of Okutama Town, Tokyo. The body showed signs of having been disturbed by animals. There have been numerous bear sightings in the area, and the Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the condition of the body in detail, including the possibility that it was a bear attack.
Meanwhile, a photograph of a black bear taken around 6:30 p.m. on the 17th in Hachioji City, Tokyo, shows a large bear, believed to be its mother, with a small bear, believed to be its cub, following closely behind. On April 29th, a bear measuring over 1 meter in length was also photographed in Hachioji City. Hachioji City, which has set up box traps, announced future safety measures at a press conference on the 19th.
Hachioji Mayor Kazuo Hatsushuku: “We will be distributing full-fledged ‘bear bells.’ And, just in case, we will be distributing bear spray. It comes with a holder.” In addition to distributing bear bells to all elementary and junior high school students in mountainous areas, bear repellent spray will also be distributed to schools, kindergartens, and local governments. On the 15th, an incident occurred in Aomori City that caused a commotion in the city center. A bear over 1 meter long appeared in a parking lot in the city center. The bear then entered a commercial facility that also houses a hotel and stayed there before being exterminated by an emergency hunt.
Aomori Prefecture has seen a series of bear sightings, and a bear sighting warning has been issued. In April, they launched a website called “KumaLog Aomori” where users can check bear sighting information. “KumaLog Aomori” is a site where anyone can post and check information about bear sightings, but it has become a problem due to the frequent posting of posts that are suspected to be false. There was even a post that said, “I thought I was walking to school with my friends, but it was a bear.” Other posts that were clearly lies included, “It had no fur,” “That was definitely a brown bear.
They started fighting on the train tracks,” and “There were 300 bears.” Local authorities are visiting locations where bear sightings have been reported to verify the information, but it is said that false posts have increased sharply since the emergency hunting operation on the 15th.
An official from the Aomori Prefectural Government said regarding this issue, “It is very regrettable that several false posts have been confirmed, and we consider this to be an outrageous situation. (False posts) have a serious impact on and threaten the lives of the residents of the prefecture. We intend to take strict action against these false posts.” The prefecture has identified several individuals who made the false posts and has requested the police to investigate for fraudulent obstruction of business, etc. FNN Prime Online
