Bear attacks in Japan hit record high in 2023
- Six of 193 bear attacks in Japan were fatal
- Experts said supply of their typical food was scarce due to dry summer
- Earth set a new monthly record for heat in November
Shiretoko Pass, Hokkaido, Japan. My family and I were walking along the road when we chanced upon this fella about 10m away from us. We had the opportunity to have good views before it slowly crept warily away from us.
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(NewsNation) — Japan saw the highest number of bear attacks in 2023 since the country began keeping records of them in 2006, according to reports.
Six out of the 193 attacks were fatal.
According to CBS News, a dry summer produced fewer of their primary foods: acorns and beech nuts. The lack of food forced them outside of their traditional foraging areas.
Bears aren’t rare in Japan but they mostly keep to the northern part of the country where rivers and mountain ranges are plentiful.
Some experts believe climate change is to blame.
Yahoo News cites warmer temperatures are causing more frequent overlap between human society and animal habitats. As the number of suitable habitats drops, more interaction with humans is inevitable.
For the sixth month in a row in 2023, Earth set a new monthly record for heat in November, and also added the hottest autumn to the litany of record-breaking heat this year, the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Climate Change Service calculated.
Scientists say there are two driving forces behind the six straight record hottest months in a row. One is human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas. That’s like an escalator. But the natural El Nino-La Nina cycle is like jumping up or down on that escalator.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
