Bear attack on angler suspected after human head found at lake in Hokkaido

Yikes!

Ugh. In Canada, you need to carry at least bear spray, preferably a loaded rifle, if you're going to a remote area where grizzlies live. Just common sense. I'm going to assume this guy was defenseless.

.. a member of the group killed one on Monday afternoon, according to a town official.

Why? The damage was already done. I can understand shooting a bear that has come into a populated area and is a threat, but this one (if it was even the one that attacked) was out in its own habitat doing what bears do. This is just vengeance.

Condolences to the angler's family.

Bears are one of the few dangerous animals that will actually eat you. Most only see you as a threat to their territory. Bears see you as food. Going fishing alone in areas with bears is probably not one of the best decisions a person could make. Sad outcome for the fisherman and his family.

Why? The damage was already done. I can understand shooting a bear that has come into a populated area and is a threat, but this one (if it was even the one that attacked) was out in its own habitat doing what bears do. This is just vengeance.

Because once bears acquire a taste for human, they rarely, if ever, stop at one. They will continue to stock and kill more people, has nothing to do with vengeance.

fatrainfallingintheforestToday  07:50 am JST

.. a member of the group killed one on Monday afternoon, according to a town official.

Why? The damage was already done.

Bears that have killed and eaten humans are shot, because they have acquired a taste. This is true in every country. Bears that have merely wandered into human habitat can in many cases be tranqulized and transported out.

The angler was fly fishing alone in waders in the water, likely with his back to the shore. In which case wearing Bear Bells or carrying Bear Spray would not have been of much help. He maynot have even seen the bear coming until it was too late.

Stay away from Bear territory and everything will just be fine, Happy Bear & Happy us.

It is the bear territory!

Still probability is there, that he might have been decapitated by someone or a group and then brought there into wild silent nature to let it look like a bear attack or fishing accident. Not in every bear costume is a bear, so to say.

Still probability is there, that he might have been decapitated by someone or a group and then brought there into wild silent nature to let it look like a bear attack or fishing accident

Brought to the place where the victim was last seen? and by huge coincidence a bear seen with waders in its mouth? this is not a realistic possibility, nature can be dangerous enough without having to imagine very unlikely scenarios to explain a death.

No need to kill the bear

Barbaric as always.

Killed a bear. Was it the bear that killed the fisherman?

town office to launch a bear hunt operation and a member of the group killed one on Monday afternoon

Maybe don't go fishing in bear territory?

@Zizi

No need to kill the bear

Barbaric as always.

Maybe the bear was protecting the fish.

RIP to my namesake and his family. I hope he finds peace and eternal rest. I can imagine his final moments weren't exactly worth mentioning. This is why I would want to have a shotgun when I go camping, yogi bear in real life isn't just after our picnic baskets.

No shortage of bears.

Bears that have killed and eaten humans are shot, because they have acquired a taste. This is true in every country. Bears that have merely wandered into human habitat can in many cases be tranqulized and transported out.

I'm not 100% sure that's true. Is there any evidence or is it just a horror movie trope? At any rate, I can't see a bear that has attacked one human on a remote lakeside relocating itself to a more populated area.

I know well this area. This is very remote and nobody should go there alone unprepared like that in an area populated with brown bears. Now brown bears usually don't approach or attack humans unless for example a mother is afraid for the safety of her cubs and wants to protect them. They usually keep distance as long as a person let them know of their presence on their territory.

However there is a particular period when this can be extremely dangerous to venture in bear's territories. Typically, the end of the bear's winter slumber is around the beginning of April, but females who gave birth (from late January to early February) will leave the den about a month later. Around the beginning of May, all bears will have become active, including the single bears and mothers with cubs. During this period they need to feed a lot since when bears emerge from their dens they are understandably hungry. So this is really not a good idea to be there then, not good at all. He was actually also in an area where bears also feed in fish.

This guy was reckless and stupid.

The poor guy was unthinking, clearly ignorant of reality: the laws of nature also apply to humankind.

sometimes is better to use basic common sense.

especially if you are at your own in wilderness.

My dog, I did not know Japan even had bears in it countryside.

Humans eat all the other forms of life, ...... special....but no more special than any other form of life, a least not to bears. Eat and be eaten.

Going to such an area without bear spray or a shotgun is stupid.

Guns can be a pain to acquire here, but bear spray can easily be bought here.

Sounds like the bear attacked and ate him.

This guy had probably been fishing there his whole life and unfortunately got extremely unlucky this time. It doesn't say anywhere in the article that he didn't have a gun or spray. I've never seen a bear here luckily, but I've seen wild boars while hiking. If they decided to charge I'd hardly have had time to react, it happens so fast. I'd imagine a big brown bear is even faster.

fatrainfallingintheforestToday  10:20 am JST

Bears that have killed and eaten humans are shot, because they have acquired a taste. This is true in every country. Bears that have merely wandered into human habitat can in many cases be tranqulized and transported out.

I'm not 100% sure that's true.

Google is your friend.

The police said they have not yet determined whether it is that of Nishikawa.

What they mean is they have not yet officially identified the remains of Mr. Nishikawa.

They know, we know and his family know it's him.

Google is your friend.

Oh believe me, I googled it. There doesn't seem to be a consensus. I think it's an old wives tale. Lots of anecdotal evidence maybe, but nothing concrete.

Why kill a bear that's miles away from anywhere!? Humans should respect where other creatures live more and it sure sounds like he was deep into bear territory.

Rest in Peace to the poor devoured fisherman.

Once bears get a taste for human, as others have rightly stated, there is no turning back. It will be relentless in its pursuit of any and all humans it can find to satisfy it's need for human meat. Sadly this bear must be found and destroyed ASAP - otherwise another human kill is almost a certainty.

Circumstantial evidence of a bear having waders dangling from its mouth. I have seen thousands of bears with waders dangling from their mouths.

Once bears get a taste for human, as others have rightly stated, there is no turning back. It will be relentless in its pursuit of any and all humans it can find to satisfy it's need for human meat.

Still waiting for evidence on that.

There is a large bear in Hokkaido OSO18 that attacks and kills cattle, at least 65 so far. They've been after it for months but have not yet succeeded in stopping it.

牛を襲う 謎のヒグマ「OSO18」とは なぜ被害が？ 追跡取材で迫る - クローズアップ現代 - NHK

In 1915 in the early frontier days, there was a bear that would smash into fragile houses and attack, drag away and/or eat whole families. This Sankebetsu Higuma incident is perhaps the most well known horror story, where one winter a certain bear killed 7 and wounded three. Subject of several documentaries and films.

三毛別羆事件 - Wikipedia

fatrainfallingintheforestToday 07:50 am JST

.. a member of the group killed one on Monday afternoon, according to a town official.

Why? The damage was already done. I can understand shooting a bear that has come into a populated area and is a threat, but this one (if it was even the one that attacked) was out in its own habitat doing what bears do. This is just vengeance.

.

Why

Simple answer

Once it tasted human flesh it would see the next human as food.

Hopefully it was the one that killed the man.

.

Fishing in bear country, you should have at lest one person with you.

.

As others have said, having a bear repellant spray with you at lest is a must in bear country.

After catching a fish, you would have it smell on you. Maybe that is what attracted the bear.

nandakandamanda,

Yeah, one story from over a century ago doesn't do much to convince me. Besides, the attacks occured because of encroachment on the bear's habitat, deforestation, an early end to its hibernation, and humans shooting the bear first. It's anthropomorphism like that that leads to existing prejudices against animals existing in the wild. For the most part, they just want to be left alone and the vast majority of bear attacks are from human actions.

Once it tasted human flesh it would see the next human as food.

An easy target, maybe, but not because of any new diet preference.

Hopefully it was the one that killed the man.

And if not, oh well, one less bear to worry about.

Because once bears acquire a taste for human, they rarely, if ever, stop at one. They will continue to stock and kill more people, has nothing to do with vengeance

No evidence of this at all. A myth.

Black bears rarely attack people, unless they're protecting young or territory. Only 14% of attacks are fatal and while they're capable of eating people, they would only do so if starving.

Grizzly and Polar bears are more likely to attack and eat anything. No Grizzlies or Polar bears in Japan.

Bears are all different, and unpredictable in the wild. So are humans.

No evidence of this at all. A myth.

A popular and persistent one it seems.

Grizzly and Polar bears are more likely to attack and eat anything. No Grizzlies or Polar bears in Japan.

Actually, the Brown Bear of Hokkaido has the temperament and attitude of a grizzly bear. They are quite aggressive, especially in the spring and late fall. An unfortunate situation.

bears are carnivores

No. Bears are omnivores.

Has it been determined to be a bear attack?

Brown bears in Hokkaido are big. They are more likely to run away from humans unless cubs or territory are threatened, or they're starving. They would just be coming out of hibernation recently.

If someone was decapitated it doesn't mean they were eaten. Bears are ferocious fighters with enormous strength.

I'm bringing a shotgun(perfectly legal in Japan) if I'm gong into bear country.

Peter NeilToday 03:24 am JST

bears are carnivores

"I'm bringing a shotgun(perfectly legal in Japan) if I'm gong into bear country".

Preferably loaded with solid slug cartridges. Standard lead shot would only make a Bear angry.

They have now found parts of his torso too.

Having opened the stomach of the bear they shot, they found it contains about 9kg of flesh and bone fragments. They have not determined yet whether they are human remains.

J article with general photos.

釣りの男性行方不明の朱鞠内湖、新たに遺体の一部を発見…先に頭部が見つかり、付近で駆除のクマの胃に肉片や骨片（HBCニュース北海道） - Yahoo!ニュース