GPS observation of hiker killed by bear in Japan reveals heartbreaking details about his final moments

Observation of a Japanese hiker killed by a bear has revealed harrowing details about his final moments, including the fact that the animal returned to his body the next day, according to a news report.

Bears have killed a record 13 people in Japan this year and injured more than 200 people, while reports of creatures wandering near schools and rampaging through supermarkets have raised anxiety, especially in rural northern regions.

The hiker’s GPS watch, which uses satellite signals to record routes and monitors heart rate, was recovered after the fatal attack on August 14, the Asahi Shimbun reported.

Data from the device shows that around 11 a.m. he suddenly deviated from the hiking trail in Hokkaido and descended a forested slope, according to the newspaper.

In an area of ​​thick brush, he circled and repeatedly passed over the same spot.

The watch also showed that the man’s heart stopped beating about 100 to 130 meters from the trail, indicating that he died there.

The guard remained in the same place all night, but moved again around 9am the next morning, traveling several hundred meters through the undergrowth.

This suggests that the grizzly bear had returned and taken the man’s body, Asahi said.

Three days later, on August 15, a bear with two cubs was seen dragging its body with its mouth. All three animals were killed.

A mound of earth made by the bear was found nearby and traces of the man, who was engaged to be married, were discovered, the report added.

The victim’s parents were asked to identify the body, but police only asked them to look at his face due to the severity of the injuries.

Bear spotted at Japan ski resort in latest incident

Meanwhile, a ski resort in Japan said on Friday it had received reports of bear sightings as a snowboarder described how one of the animals chased him down the slope.

“Since we received two reports of sightings on Sunday, we have been patrolling every day to check for bear tracks,” Kazuya Shirakawa of the Hakuba47 mountain sports park in the Nagano region told News.

Ski resort employees have not seen any signs of bears since the reports, Shirakawa said.

Bears normally go into hibernation in winter, but a man was attacked earlier this month in the region while clearing snow near his home.

Meanwhile, a snowboarder who posted a video on Instagram of his encounter with a bear told media that the animal “chased him” on the ski slope.

“When I turned around I saw a bear. I was surprised,” he told private broadcaster TV Asahi.

The video he posted online four days ago showed a bear running towards him from beneath the field in Nagano.

It was unclear if the ski resort was the same one where the other bear sightings were reported.

“He almost collided with me… and our eyes met.”

The bear gave up and returned to the mountain, he said.

“An opportunity to expand your range”

Bears hungry due to a shortage of food such as acorns, which has been attributed to climate change, are increasingly invading cities where the human population is aging and declining.

Experts say the warmer climate is also affecting the hibernation patterns of the animals, which in the case of grizzly bears can weigh 1,100 pounds and run faster than a human.

Japan has two types of bears: Asian black bears, also known as moon bears, and the larger brown bears that live on the main northern island of Hokkaido.

Thousands of animals are killed every year.

Experts have cited the impacts of climate change on bears’ food sources and hibernation cycles as a key factor, but there are also implications as Japan’s aging population shrinks and humans leave more rural areas.

This depopulation has left bears “an opportunity to expand their range,” according to biologist Koji Yamazaki of the Tokyo University of Agriculture. told News themezone‘Elizabeth Palmer in 2023.