As a government geologist based in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, who actively engages in fieldwork, Shun Muto spends a significant portion each year in the rugged mountains of Iwate Prefecture. Alongside neighboring Akita Prefecture, these two regions are ground zero for the recent spate of bear attacks. Since April, more than 100 residents have been injured, 13 killed and the Ground Self-Defense Force mobilized to provide nonviolent animal control support.
And yet, Muto struggles to reconcile these facts with what Iwate’s mountains are telling him: Life in the prefecture’s most rural stretches is business as usual.
“Altogether, I’m spending around 90 to 110 days in the mountains every year,” Muto, 33, says. “From my experience, I’m not getting the impression that bear activity has increased these past several years — that is, the frequency of encountering bear traces such as dung, pawprints and claw marks hasn’t increased noticeably, as far as I’m aware.”
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