Bear sightings reported in Sapporo

In the district I live in.. Lovely! Good thing is though I lived in Finland and we are used to bears up in the north.

When I was a kid I was thought that if you come in contact with a bear, just play dead. That's not the case anymore, just walk away slowly and never run. Try not to excite the bear.

That was a few weeks back lol

Well, that's just great. You hear that, Ed? Bears. Now you're putting the whole station in jeopardy.

or is it the Japanese Bigfoot or yeti?

My guess, winter is around the corner, and these bears are HUNGRY, they are just looking for food, so Kariharuka, do you have lots of food for these bears??

PLEASE DON'T KILL THE BEAR, just drug it and move it, every year they kill the bear for doing what it does naturally!

"PLEASE DON'T KILL THE BEAR,

I'll second that. For a nation that goes out of its way to gush over the abundance of nature to be found in Japan, Japanese communities are sure quick to mount up hunting parties to track these poor animals down and blow them away.

It's human encroachment on this very same "sacred" nature that prompts wild animals to wander into human communities in search of food.

Tranquilize the bear and take it back to the woods. Then follow up with a comprehensive habitat restoration plan that includes replenishing the food sources bears traditionally rely on to survive.

If it is indeed the same bear, shooting it will be the only option I'm afraid, as it has grown too accustomed to humans and most probably found it to be easier to get food than in the woods, and you might be able to teach a kid not help himself from the cookie jar, but how do you intend to teach a bear? Here in Karuizawa the monkey groups are tracked and some bears are tracked as well. There is a group that is trying to protect the bear population and they started tracking bears more than 10 years ago. Alas they found out that those that went to the trash storage would do so again and again, so they had to put those down. Looking for a better solution, a few years they bought a bear dog from USA who's job is to chase the bears that get to close to the houses deep back into the woods so they won't come again that easy. And it seems he is doing a good job as bear sightings have been on the decline in recent years.

I am in Otaru. Not far from Sapporo at all. Looks like me and my neighbour is going to have bear meat this week.

Easy to say do not kill the bears, but if you have a family in Sapporo, kids, do you sit on your hands and pray that the big,bad hungry bear just goes away?? Or do you sit on your hands and let the bear maul your family?? Eat up your pets and kids?? So, if possible yes tranquilize this bear, and if not, well as Akemi up in Otaru says, looks like bear meat will be on the menu. Do I feel sorry for these bears?? Yes, but if they ever get close to me or my family?? Guess who is gonna be making bear tacos?? Bear enchiladas? Bear burritos??

It is only a Black Bear in search of a meal.

YuriOtaniSep. 03, 2012 - 10:47PM JST

It is only a Black Bear in search of a meal.

No, it's a brown bear, all the bears in Sapporo area are. While they search for food, it is hardly necessary this time of year, since the mountains have plenty. But they NEVER to be confused for a black bear, as they are much more closely related in size to the grizzly, and are far more aggressive than black bears (though lately no attacks have been reported due to precautions taken when one is found)

This is however, is nothing special, especially since Minami-ku is the least populated area. Last two times that bears went into the Hokkaido Jingu grounds there were no news here even though it is a populated upscale area. Must be a slow news day.

The bear, about 1.5 meters long, was spotted by a bus driver in a bus depot parking area in Makomanai-minamimachi 3-chome at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday, NTV reported. Then a taxi driver reported seeing a bear at 12:30 a.m. in Makomanai-kamimachi 5-chome.

Missed the bus, missed the taxi...guess it'll have to walk.