In Japan’s Nagano, Bear Researchers Try Tracking Instead of Killing

Deep in the forests of Nagano, researchers are pursuing an approach to bear management that relies on monitoring and deterrence as well as lethal control. According to reporting by Phys.org, scientist Akiko Takii recently examined a young Asiatic black bear caught in a forest trap. The roughly 15-kilogram female was tranquilized while Takii collected blood and fur samples. Because the bear was too small for a GPS device, it was released without a tracker. The work is part of a management program begun in 1995, after authorities became concerned that the bear population in the mountainous central region of Japan’s Honshu Island was declining. Researchers trap, tag and release suitable animals, while other measures are intended to keep bears away from people and agricultural areas. Those measures have included more than 3,000 kilometers of fencing near farms, towns and rivers. A separate group used specially trained Karelian Bear Dogs to frighten bears away, and animals that entered human areas could be tranquilized, tagged and released farther away. The bear-dog program has since been halted, and Takii’s organization now conducts catch-and-release work only for scientific research. The program has been associated with a recovery in bear numbers, although the animals are difficult to count, and with fewer reported encounters in Nagano than in some northern prefectures. The source reported 11 bear-related incidents in Nagano last year, including one death. In comparison, Akita recorded 59 encounters and four deaths, while Iwate reported five fatalities. The approach faces growing pressure. Bears killed six people across Japan after April 1, following 13 fatal attacks during the previous fiscal year. The country also recorded a record 14,000 bear deaths last fiscal year. The central government has expanded guidance allowing bears to be culled in buffer areas outside towns. In Nagano, the annual culling limit was doubled to 675, with 227 bears killed between April and June. Takii continues to promote caution through school lessons, telling children to keep food away from bears and maintain distance. Researchers cited in the report linked increased encounters to factors including changing food supplies, climate-related effects and the decline of rural land management.