Japanese authorities are on the hunt for a bear that has been raiding homes and businesses in the town of Shizukuishi, with concerns that it may be behind 14 break-ins over the past fortnight. The latest incident occurred on Monday evening when an elderly couple, Mitsuo Matsubara, 87, and his wife, discovered a large Asiatic black bear in their kitchen, rummaging through their fridge. The couple’s wife called the police after the bear was confronted by her husband.
The bear’s brazen break-ins have been reported at five locations in the north-eastern town, leading officials to suspect that one bear may be a repeat offender. In response, officials have set up box traps, installed electric fences around repeatedly targeted houses, and deployed patrols to warn residents about the bear. According to Shiho Chida, a bear specialist with the nature division in Iwate prefecture, it is unusual for a bear to break into the same place multiple times, and it is possible that this is the same animal.
The bear’s exploits have been well-documented, with one farmer reporting that it has broken into his farm four times over the past couple of weeks, helping itself to milk-based cattle feed. The bear was even caught on camera attempting to open the sliding door of a farmhouse in the dead of night, but ran away after the farmer shone a light on it and shouted loudly. In an effort to deter the bear, the farmer has taken to spreading a homemade anti-bear mixture containing Japanese mustard around entranceways.
Other residents have reported similar encounters with the bear, including one man who came home from shopping to find the bear inside his house near the room where his elderly father was sleeping. The bear ran outside when he banged on a nearby door but attempted to come back inside, prompting the man to spend about 30 seconds struggling to hold a sliding door shut as the bear stood on its hind legs trying to push its way in.
The bear’s sweet tooth has also been evident, with reports of it breaking into a Japanese confectionery shop and taking doughnuts out of the fridge. In one house, it has broken in five times, eating cookies, sugar, and karinto, a Japanese sugar-coated sweet made from fried dough.
Experts believe that the increasing number of bear attacks and fatalities in Japan in recent years may be due to shrinking populations in rural areas, making it less intimidating for bears to come into towns, and that many have now lost their fear of humans.
