TOKYO, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Multiple bear attacks were reported across Japan on Thursday, leaving five people injured, as the country grapples with an unprecedented surge in bear-related casualties this year, according to Japanese media.
In Toyama city, Toyama prefecture, a couple in their 70s was attacked by a bear while delivering newspapers before dawn, suffering facial injuries but remaining conscious after being taken to hospital. In Oshu city, Iwate prefecture, a woman in her 60s was injured in a bear attack on a small path near her home early in the morning.
A man in his 70s in the village of Nozawaonsen, Nagano prefecture, sustained wounds to his face and legs after being clawed by a bear while clearing snow. In Masuda city, Shimane prefecture, another man in his 70s suffered facial injuries after being attacked near a local community center.
Since April, injuries and fatalities caused by bear encounters have continued to climb, hitting an all-time high. According to public broadcaster NHK, at least 22 prefectures have reported bear attacks between April and December, with a total of 235 victims, including 13 fatalities.
Naoki Onishi, a team leader in charge of animal ecology and genetics in the Tohoku Research Center at the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, said bears are appearing more frequently at a time when they would typically be hibernating, a trend linked to the expansion of their habitats into human residential areas.
He noted that bears remain in a "light sleep" during hibernation and can easily be disturbed by human activity or nearby noise. In addition, because bears only hibernate once food becomes scarce, the continued presence of food left around residential areas can keep them foraging longer, delaying the start of their hibernation. ■