TOKYO, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- A survey has found that about 70 percent of bear attacks on human beings in Japan occurred in areas where people conduct their daily livelihoods, local media reported.
As of noon on Thursday, 64 people in 12 prefectures across the country had been injured from bear attacks since the start of October, with four of them killed, public broadcaster NHK reported.
NHK and an expert from the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Naoki Onishi, conducted a study on where these bear attack cases had occurred and found that 44 of them, or 68 percent, were attacked in human-inhabited areas, including residential areas and farmland.
The study also found that in 33 cases, there were food or agriculture items that could attract bears near the locations where the attacks took place.
Onishi urged people where bear sightings are frequent to stay vigilant through December, adding that they should refrain from walking in the early morning and use vehicles at night even when they go to a nearby convenience store.
Noting an increasing number of bear sightings have been reported, especially in the Tohoku region, where depopulation and aging are accelerating, Onishi warned that there are a lot of abandoned plots of farmland and vacant houses where bears can easily make their habitat. ■
