A bear described by local authorities as “extremely intelligent” remains at large in northern Japan after attacking four people, including an elderly woman, in a rampage that has exposed the growing cost of urban encroachment on wild habitat.
Sources confirm the bear first struck in the town of Takikawa on Hokkaido island, mauling a woman in her 80s as she tended her garden. It then moved through residential streets, attacking a man outside a convenience store and two others before vanishing into the forested hills. Police have cordoned off a 10-kilometre radius and warned residents to stay indoors.
The creature’s intelligence, officials say, is evident in its ability to evade repeated capture attempts. “This bear is learning our patterns,” a wildlife officer told reporters. “It moves between trap sites, avoids patrols, and seems to understand road blocks.” The animal, a brown bear weighing an estimated 200 kilogrammes, has been sighted near schools and farmland, prompting a lockdown of local schools.
Inside Japan’s struggle with bear attacks lies an uncomfortable truth: as human settlements push deeper into bear territory, encounters grow inevitable. Hokkaido recorded a record 213 bear attacks in 2023, up from 150 a decade ago. Conservation groups blame shrinking food supplies in forests due to logging and climate change, forcing bears into towns in search of leftovers.
Yet this bear appears different. “It’s not just hungry,” said a resident who claimed to have seen the animal near his home. “It’s cunning. It watches from the treeline, waits for gaps in patrols, then moves.” Police have deployed drones and thermal imaging, but the bear has evaded detection for three days.
The attacks have reignited debate over Japan’s bear management policies. Hunters are authorised to kill any bear that enters a populated area, but activists argue for non-lethal methods. The government has struggled to balance conservation with public safety. In 2021, a similar “super bear” terrorised a town for weeks before being shot, only for activists to later claim the culling was unnecessary.
For now, the search continues. “This bear is a survivor,” a police spokesman admitted. “It knows what we are doing before we do it. That is what makes it dangerous.” The hunt has drawn international attention, with wildlife experts monitoring the operation. But for the residents of Takikawa, the fear is immediate. “I haven’t slept in two days,” an elderly man said. “Every shadow looks like a bear.”
The authorities have offered a ¥1 million reward for information leading to the bear’s capture. But with night falling on the forest, the clock ticks. The bear, as one official put it, “isn’t just running. It’s watching.”
