In the latest series of bear attacks to hit Honshu, three people were injured by a bear in the Hakusan area of Ishikawa Prefecture on Saturday.
The first attack took place at approximately 10 a.m. when a woman in her 70s suffered facial and arm injuries outside her home while trying to fend off a bear near a vegetable storage barn.
Later in the afternoon, two more attacks occurred in the same vicinity. A man in his 70s and a woman in her 60s sustained injuries in separate incidents, which are believed to be the work of the same bear.
At around 2:30 p.m., a bear was sighted on the premises of a nearby house. It was subsequently killed by a member of a local hunters association at 5:30 p.m.
Reports received by the police indicated multiple bear sightings in Hakusan on Saturday, leading them to suspect the presence of more than one bear in the area.
According to data from the Environment Ministry, the number of people attacked by Asian black bears and Ussuri brown bears in 15 prefectures this year has reached a record high of 215 as of early December. Tragically, six of those attacked have succumbed to their injuries.
© Japan Today
