The campsite where the bear was fought off.

12-year-old girl fights off bear in Hokkaido

Tuesday 22nd July, 11:01 AM JST

HOKKAIDO —

A 12-year-old girl on Monday fought off a brown bear at a campsite in Rausu, Hokkaido. Nobody was hurt, the campsite manager said Tuesday. According to reports, a 1.5-meter-tall young brown bear entered a tent where the girl and four members of her family were sleeping around 4 a.m. The 12-year-old girl woke up first and kicked the bear which fled right away.

The girl said, “I felt something touching my legs and I thought my 10-year-old sister was teasing me. I got such a fright when I saw it was a bear and just kept kicking at it.”

The campsite has been closed since the incident as other bears have been spotted in the area.

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Latest 15 of 25 Total Comments Show All

hikikomori08 at 02:07 PM JST - 22nd July

Nobody was hurt

Has anybody consulted the bear and how he or she feels about it?
zzonkerr at 02:22 PM JST - 22nd July

Put her in the next K-1 round. Bet she could kick Akebono's butt, too!
dennis0bauer at 03:09 PM JST - 22nd July

So her new nickname is Kumahime? It is good to read some good news!
tkoind2 at 03:14 PM JST - 22nd July

The bear has filed assault charges on the little girl claiming wreckless endangerment, trespassing in bear teritory and mental anguish. He was unavailable for comment at the recommendation of council. Sources close to the bear indicate that the bear is suffering from mental and emotional trauma over being beaten by a little girl and the potential negative impact upon his career as a forest preditor.
hikikomori08 at 03:26 PM JST - 22nd July

The bear might also care to sue for libel, as numerous reports indicate the innocent little fun-loving cutey never entered the tent, as reported above.

中標津署によると、ヒグマは外からテントを押し続けたが、長女の中学生（１２）が足蹴りなどで反撃。クマはそのまま退散したという。

ヒグマはテントを外から押し続け、中学生が内側からキックで応戦すると、ささやぶに逃げたという。

同町などによると、家族５人でキャンプに来た中学生は寝ぼけていて、テントを押すヒグマを妹（１０）のいたずらと勘違い。手で押し返していたが、あまりにしつこいのでキックしたという。そばにいた母（４０）の目には、テントのシートの向こうにヒグマの影が見えていたという。
presto345 at 08:54 PM JST - 22nd July

Thought this was an English forum.
hikikomori08 at 09:05 PM JST - 22nd July

Thought this was an English forum.

It is. But sometimes it also helps to get the facts straight. Where I chose to highlight this is a bit frivilous, but such misreporting is all over the place.
Sarge at 11:31 PM JST - 22nd July

That girl was lucky - that bear could well have taken off her head with one swipe of its massive paw. But she might very well kick Akebono's butt!
usaexpat at 11:44 PM JST - 22nd July

lucky girl, even brown bears can do some damage if they decide to maul someone.
OssanULTRA at 12:07 AM JST - 23rd July

Good thing it was a bear. If it was really the girl's 10 year old sister she would probably be in a hospital now.
Nessie at 12:35 AM JST - 23rd July

That area has the highest concentration of bears in Japan.
imagawa at 05:04 AM JST - 23rd July

Hikikomori08

I read the same thing, she didn't at the time see it or know it was a bear & just felt something pushing her through the ten, so hit it & then kicked it. Or could this a totally different story, it sounds like one. Or did someone feel like adding a little colour
hikikomori08 at 05:15 AM JST - 23rd July

I read the same thing, she didn't at the time see it or know it was a bear & just felt something pushing her through the ten, so hit it & then kicked it. Or could this a totally different story, it sounds like one. Or did someone feel like adding a little colour

It's the same story with most of the facts having been conveyed in a proper manner, but with some coloring and preservatives added just for fun. JT should wake up to the fact that some of its audience is not living in an English bubble, and try to report more accurately for those who do.
Mato99 at 07:49 AM JST - 23rd July

Well good for her, I mean most people you ask here will say that you should "play dead" if you see a bear. Bears hate noise, so its a good idea to be very noisy should you see one. It is really lucky that she wasn't killed since it came at here while she was asleep. There must have been candy or something in her tent. In any event, seems like all things ended up for the best for the family and, the bear.
TheguyNextdoor at 12:54 PM JST - 24th July

thought the bear was outside the tent and she just kicked it back. don't remember reading or hearing it was inside?