Capturing bears is not enough” Zero bear fatalities in residential areas for 16 consecutive years!　What is the surprising countermeasure that Karuizawa Town implements?

Capturing the bear is the limit…the dogs fight off the bear!

Bears are waking up from hibernation and sightings are coming in from all over the country. This year, the government formulated the “Bear Damage Prevention Roadmap” and specifically eased the requirements for bear extermination. The government is trying to reduce the bear population by shifting the focus from “protection” to “management. However, the government has also been trying to reduce the number of bears by “capturing bears only,

“I think it will be difficult to reduce the damage caused by bears by capturing them alone.

says Mr. Masaru Koyama, a Karuizawa Town specialist in bird and animal control. Last year, there were 170 reports of bear sightings in Karuizawa, but for the 16th year in a row, there have been no human sightings in “human settlements.

What on earth is going on?

Karuizawa Town began to experience bear damage around 1998. Then, in 2000, a group of eco-tourism experts started a project to reduce the number of bears in the town. In 2000, we commissioned the NPO “Piccio,” a group of eco-tourism experts, to take full-scale measures against bears.

However, capturing bears and scaring them with firecrackers and fireworks did not have a sufficient effect on bear damage. It was right around this time that the representative of “Picchio” heard about a bear dog that was proving effective in North America,” said Koyama.

Bear dogs are professional dogs trained to fight bears, and when they smell a bear, they bark loudly to scare the bear away deep into the forest. They are trained to drive bears deep into the forest by barking loudly when they smell a bear.

In the town of Karuizawa, when a bear appears in a human village, it is put to sleep with anesthesia, fitted with a transmitter, and returned to the mountains. The bears are monitored daily from June to October, and when they come close to the village, bear dogs and bear dog handlers are dispatched to drive them back to the mountains.

Special trash cans are used to eliminate bear damage!

It seems that introducing bear dogs is not the end-all-be-all …….

The most important thing is to find out why the bears have appeared. If there is a report of a bear sighting, we will work with “Piccio We investigated what the bears were “obsessed” with. In Karuizawa, garbage was the most common target.

Therefore, “Piccio” developed a trash can that bears would not raid. We tested it at a bear farm in Noboribetsu and found it to be effective. We discussed with the town and installed the trash cans in areas where bears were likely to visit.

The trash cans that had been vandalized by bears were replaced with bear damage prevention trash cans in ’08, and since ’09, there have been zero cases of damage at public trash collection points.

It was not just a matter of replacing the trash cans.

The smell of food attracts bears, so we don’t leave food outdoors. Dog food is also dangerous if left outside. There was even a case in which a bear broke down the door and ate miso paste when it was left in a storage box.

We can prevent food and dog food from being left outside, but what about breaking the door of the shed?

We asked them to store the food in a sturdy place with a lock that would close so that bears couldn’t easily remove it.”

If a tree is left cut down and left in the yard, it will decay and ants will nest in it. Ant nests are also a favorite food of bears.

We ask that they clear the trees.”

There are no persimmon trees in Karuizawa, which is nearly 1,000 meters above sea level, but there are mulberry, cherry, and other trees that bear fruit.

We urge people living near such trees to be careful, as bears may come.”

The measures taken are as subtle as they are detailed. Even so, bears still come. Bear dogs are effective in chasing away bears that appear in human settlements deep into the mountains.

Surprising countermeasures against bears in elementary schools

No matter how many bears you capture, if there is something for them to eat, they will come out one after another. If you make sure there is nothing for them to eat, even if they appear in town, they will just pass by. Bear dogs are just one of the overall bear countermeasures.”

In addition to using bear dogs to scare away bears and managing bear attractants, the town is also focusing on public awareness.

In addition to bear-dog removal and bear-attractant management, the town is also focusing on public awareness. “We are giving lessons on bears in schools, and we have made zoning maps of areas where bears are likely to appear and distributed them to residents. Also, since ’00, we have been conducting fruiting surveys of acorns and holding debriefing sessions once or twice a year to report on how likely it is for bears to appear this year because there seems to be less fruitfulness, etc.”

Even now, outside of the residential area, people who go into the mountains to pick wild vegetables are sometimes attacked by bears, but there have been no human injuries in the residential area since ’11.’ This year marks 26 years since we started bear control measures in ’00. It seems that it took some time before the safety and security of residents could be ensured.

The town of Karuizawa is serious. On the one hand, I think it is wonderful, but on the other hand, I also feel gloomy and wonder if the bears will not be eliminated unless they go this far. But since Karuizawa was able to do it, surely other municipalities can do it, too!