Drama in Japan, where a twenty year old hiker lost his life in nature and an entire family of bears was killed for what happened. The episode occurred on Mount Rausu, a place of interest in the Shiretoko peninsula, where the boy’s corpse was found.
The searches would have started on August 14th immediately after the disappearance report. Police and hunters would have explored the area and the following day identified the young man’s body between the vegetation. According to reports from the Japanese media, the victim would have died of bleeding. Responsible for wounds a bear.
The authorities have issued a state of alert due to the presence of bears on that particular stretch, continuing with the investigation. The patrol did not lead only to the discovery of the victim’s personal objects, including a blood-dirty t-shirt, but also to the sighting of a group of bears in the area in the following hours.
A mother wears together with her two children was in those parts. The mere presence of the footbeds near the point in which the accident occurred was enough to trigger the death sentence for animals. Not even the puppies were spared from the execution.
The bears were knocked down with a firearm with their mother. It seems that only DNA samples were later taken to prove that the attack had been launched by that adult example. But in the meantime, confirms or not, the wilds are gone. The culprit hunting ended with blood.
What happened on Mount Rausu, a territory frequented by bears, remains a tragedy, the last one of which we would have news after the case of the biker who died in Romania for having approached an bear with puppies.
Fatal situations like this unfortunately continue to occur in every corner of the earth, reaping human and animal victims and imposing us to reflect. If it is true that such epilogues can take place at any time and in the most disparate circumstances, it is also true that the hikers do not always follow the suggestions provided by the experts in the areas frequented by wildlife.
Killing “for revenge” bears cannot be the solution
The reports and information of information drawn up by the scientific staff recommend in the event of close encounter with a bear, or in particular an bear with puppies, not to scream or try to escape. Easier to say than to do, of course, but many are not even aware of these indications.
Here then that brusque movements dictated by fear or incussion can be read as “danger” by the animal and cause in him a sudden but still natural reaction.
Also keeping the distance is a fundamental point, most of the time ignored. In this regard, Daitoku Takizawa intervened, a guide who organizes tours and activities in the Shoetoko peninsula:
More and more people photograph brown bears in river basins or approach them to shoot videos with smartphones. Consequently, while in the past the bears hid or moved away when they saw humans, now they no longer do it. On is doubtful that the distance between us and the brown bears has reduced to before. We must reflect on how the mountaineering should be in ShiTeoko from now on “
Takizawa’s words must not remain unheeded, but his warning is not enough. Working concretely and on multiple levels of awareness and information campaigns oriented to coexistence with wildlife is very urgent.
This does not mean that in the eyes of many the penalty imposed on the animals protagonists of this sad story appears disproportionate. Once again we are in front of a sort of “revenge” against wildlife on the charge of having been .. wild and having followed the instinct.
You cannot think of resolving the question by exterminating one or more bears because the measure will not return the life to the hiking nor will save others automatically. The problem to be addressed and eliminated are not wild animals as some mentality and provisions, much more dangerous than a bear.
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