Bear mauls 9 people at bus terminal on Gifu mountain

Sunday 20th September, 06:41 AM JST

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Cicada at 05:08 PM JST - 20th September

The 1.3-meter-long male black bear came into the terminal building after attacking some tourists at a nearby mountain and the bus terminal...

Usually bears do not attack when unprovoked. But especially unusual is that this bear attacked several people, and then entered a building like that, something normally it would be afraid of doing.

A tourism firm that manages the bus terminal under commission by the Takayama city government said it has received reports of bear sightings in the area this year, but had not taken countermeasures...

This may be an indication that bear sightings have increased recently, though it's not clear how much.
Cicada at 06:03 PM JST - 20th September

klein2: I think your observation is correct about human encroachment not being involved. The following site has photos that show the location and its surroundings. http://www.shinshu-tabi.com/photo/summer053.html
UnagiDon at 09:21 PM JST - 20th September

People who tsk-tsk about human encroachment should probably consider that at some point their current residence was part of the wilderness and encroaching upon it, and remove themselves accordingly. It should also be noted that as rural Japan slowly bleeds away into the cities, more and more are the cases of the wilderness reasserting itself upon human society as old towns and buildings get abandoned and overgrown.
Nessie at 01:33 AM JST - 21st September

Ammo's not live after you shoot it, Cleo.

And what 300... said.
cleo at 02:40 AM JST - 21st September

Ammo's not live after you shoot it

Neither is the bear, Nessie.

It also doesn't sound to me that this was a bear that had 'lost all fear of humans' - more like it was in total panic. The poor thing was probably terrified out of its tiny little brain (Yes I know, so were the people).

you know that there is a country outside of that little area, right?

Yes, but the bear wasn't shot on a farm outside of that little area. It was probably attracted by food left lying around, in rubbish bins etc. While it might not be 'human encroachment into the bears' habitat', it still seems to be a human-instigated incident. And it's the bear that gets to pay the price.

Be reasonable, and you might see my point.

I'm sorry you thought my comment 'mean-spirited and dull'. I certainly didn't intend it to be. I understood perfectly what you were saying about the 200-year-old farm and human encroachment, but I struggle to see the point in discussing what should be done in that situation, on a thread where it is obviously not the case.
Klein2 at 05:16 AM JST - 21st September

Cicada. Those are great pictures. I suppose someone could or could not call that encroaching depending on their mood. My experience is that wildlife now seem to come right up to the edge of cities, and that areas are being "reclaimed by the jungle" so to speak. As I wrote in earlier posts, my backyard and very small forested areas play host to some of the largest mammals that Japan has left. Certainly the areas shown in those pictures could support any of them.

Unagi. You are correct on both counts. The point of tension in human/wildlife relations in Japan was about three decades ago, maybe. There was a lot more encroachment than retreat. The tide has turned. Monkeys are raiding farms and spoiling hot springs. Boars, serows, and bears break down fences and dig up crops. Hawks snatch cats. Most of the farms around here don't use pesticides anymore. By law, the kamoshika that come into my garden can eat whatever the heck they want, and I can't lift a finger even to shoo them. I happen to be cool with that, by the way, but if I relied on that garden to feed my family, then I would be accepting quite a burden for "someone's" encroachment on their habitat.

Cleo. Of course it is my fault. Forget it.
SiouxGirl at 11:43 AM JST - 21st September

It's not true that once a bear gets used to humans, it's all over. They're animals of habit and have their "day" that they like to do. I live on an Indian reservation and we have a large bear population. No one hunts them anymore. They go about their day and we go about ours. But, like people, you can get one that goes outside the norm for whatever reason. This bear may have gotten outside of his "day" - meaning his area of travel and forage, and not been able to go back because of people blocking his way. He may have been too young and not accustomed to being on his own and he panicked. He may also have been sick. As horrible as it is, I think it was correct to put him down. In a populated area, people have to act quickly. Very sad. But I'm glad to hear their numbers are growing.
Pukey2 at 03:19 PM JST - 21st September

The problem is that humans are encroaching on the territories of the teddies. Same with monkeys and God's other creatures.
Cicada at 06:38 PM JST - 21st September

cleo:

It was probably attracted by food left lying around, in rubbish bins etc.

No, the bear's appearance there around people was very rare. This cannot explain it.

It also doesn't sound to me that this was a bear that had 'lost all fear of humans' - more like it was in total panic.

The English article uses the word "panic" but one can see from the very detailed Japanese versions that the bear was not initially panicked, but to the contrary appeared to be in a stupor or dis-oriented.

The poor thing was probably terrified out of its tiny little brain.

Unfortunately, a nitwitted tourist hit the dazed-looking bear with his walking stick, setting off the "panic", unusual for a bear. Normally, the bear may have attacked the one who hit it, but it would not go on a rampage like that. This first incident occurred at the entrance to the mountain hiking trail, and the bear's subsequent rampage into the parking lot and the shops was not typical behavior for any bear, angry or not.
Sarge at 06:52 PM JST - 21st September

"it still seems to be a human-instigated incident"

Yep, I'm sure that some human attacked that bear without provocation, lol!
Cicada at 08:11 PM JST - 21st September

Sarge:

I'm sure that some human attacked that bear without provocation, lol!

The detailed Japanese version tells that this is indeed what happened. The non-aggressive bear appeared to be in a stupor, on a mountain path blocking the way of some hikers, just outside the bus terminal area.

A nit-wit man hit it with his walking stick, for no other reason than to shoo it away from the mountain path, so they could continue walking. It then began wildly attacking everyone and ran over to the parking lot area on a rampage.

Not the bear's lucky day. It would have been shot anyway, even if it remained catatonic. The policy is to shoot any bear that enters areas of human habitation, regardless of whether or not it acts dangerously. Had the hikers detoured around the bear, and then reported it, the bear still would have been shot.
Sarge at 10:21 PM JST - 21st September

"A nit-wit man hit it with his walking stick, for no other reason than to shoo it away from the mountain path"

Another reason could be he has a death wish.

Thanks for the info, Cicada. Well, it appears that Cleo is right once again!
ca1ic0cat at 03:14 AM JST - 22nd September

If a fool walked up to a bear closely enough to whack it with a walking stick the guy deserved to be attacked. Why the bear kept going after people is rather strange though. Sounds like it was very out of sorts. But after the rampage there really wasn't much option but to shoot the bear. It seems that Japan is "rabies free" so I wonder what the problem was.

I once saw an idiot feeding a bear marshmallows out of a bag in Yellowstone Park. The fool had walked about 10m away from his car. My father's comment was "I hope that guy is faster than the bear when he runs out of marshmallows."

People are so stupid. Especially when they have no idea where that burger came from.
Sapporo77 at 01:16 PM JST - 24th September

Awesome watching the TV footage and while the guy is on the ground getting attacked, everyone else is standing there doing nothing. Like the lady who gets touched up on the train while everyone watches....way to go! Idiots.
Cicada at 06:03 PM JST - 24th September

Sapporo77

Awesome watching the TV footage and while the guy is on the ground getting attacked, everyone else is standing there doing nothing.

Doing nothing? One of them was filming that "awesome" video.

Idiots.

The biggest idiot is lying on the ground being mauled. You can see the long pole (walking stick) on the ground which is what the guy hit the bear with, though the bear was doing nothing but sulking. Absolute stupidity. Sapporo77, you would have attempted to pull the bear off the guy, eh?