Hunter dies in suspected bear attack in Hokkaido

Killed by the very bear he was trying to trap. Self-defence.

28-yr-Bear placed on nationwide wanted list for murder of 67-year-old hunter in Hokkaido

this is all part of natures way

Hunters 0 Bears 1

yeah, go bears!!!

Moderator: Readers, please do not post offensive remarks about a tragedy such as this.

He might still be alive if his hobby had been cosplay instead of killing things.

Okada went to the mountain alone to set a bear trap

Like this one?

http://www.bugspray.com/professional/bear.html

Just reading the description made me feel ill.

I thought these things were illegal? Sorry, but I can't feel sorry for this man.

Must be hard for his family.

Perhaps he wandered into a risk zone.

Maybe he'd had a few beers before heading out to hunt?

"injuries all over his body"

Yet he wasn't eaten. The bear was just seriously ticked off, I guess.

perhaps he wandered into a risk zone.

Read the article, he was intending to set a bear trap. He knew exactly where he was, and that bears were around. That was the whole point of him being there, to kill a bear - and he didn't mind if it died a slow, painful death with a limb caught in a trap.

The bear was just seriously ticked off, I guess

Or maybe the poor thing was hit by the shots from the two empty cartridges and dragged itself off to die.

The bear traps in Japan that I have seen were not metal clamps, but instead were pens made from long poles. In these the bear is trapped alive, having entered the enclosure to eat the bait. (Of course they are later shot, or caged, or let go.)

My sympathies to the family, and to the bear - who will probably now be hunted as a killer bear.

Is it really likely this 67-year-old was hiking alone through the woods dragging a long pole big enough to fit a full-grown bear?

anyone who hunts or kills others can only feel a strong sense of irony that they themselves may fall prey to the same creatures. the better creature won on the day. c'est la vie

I wonder if one should call this a tragedy. The hunter knew exactly what he was doing. He was challenging his fate. And he knows he was too old, so his chances of survival went down. Like jumping bungee with a rope that is too old. There is a higher risk and you may loose your life. I wonder if the old man was thinking "no risk - no fun"?

For his family, it is probably a tragedy. But it should not come as surprise to them. You can challenge your fate only a limited number of times.

IMO & IME, grew up in a hunting family.

We were drilled "one shot, one kill", cause the least suffering to your prey(and use it all for food, whatever). If you can't guarantee a killing shot don't take it.

Myself have hunted with rifles but prefer cross-bow or long-bow(neither composite) as it puts me more on an equal footing. And let me tell you an enraged 400kg Hog after you is NO laughing matter.

Feel for the guy but humans are poorly fitted now for surviving without modern coveniences (Guns, etc).

TJrandom

the traps yr talking about are hauled by trailers & used where bears etc are hanging in populated areas, they aint used in the mountains, the hunter(ed) wud have been setting leghold traps or some kind of snare, most likely the former.

Typical bear hunting in Jpn is mostly done in winter where the hunters know the dens, they go there & shoot them in their sleep, not what I wud call hunting but thats how its usually done.

but this time of year the bears are out & about so its not so easy

let me tell you an enraged 400kg Hog after you is NO laughing matter.

Being a 400 kg hog quietly going about your daily business bothering no one and suddenly finding yourself staring at the wrong end of a loaded shotgun is even less of a laughing matter.

Moderator: Back on topic please.

GW - not to argue of course... but the pen traps I have seen and been inside on occasion are built out of logs, cut from the area, wired together in a circle some 4 to 6 meters in diameter. It is set by lifting the log door and attaching bait to the wire that causes the door to drop.

More humane than clamps or snares. Bear is killed later, set free, or lives in a pen thereafter.

Cleo.

I hunt with a crossbow(as stated), in order to get a good shot you need to get close to the prey (like within a few metres).

If you miss the shot(heart or spine), a hog/boar has a poor nervous system and thus don't know it got hurt badly it just gets ANGRY.

Not talking guys here that pot game with high-powered rifles and scopes, etc. Or use semi-automatic rifles.

I know you are a vegetarian and consider meat-eaters cruel, etc. But a good hunter feels for the game/prey and tries to minimize the suffering. We use the animal(Food, etc) and don't kill for the sport of it. What we kill we use/eat.

Let me tell you I spend hours in a tree waiting for a deer to show up in a clearing and waited longer for the right shot(and it was cold). I get upset with hunters that miss their shot and need to trail the animal often for hours.

Not all is black/white.

Moderator: Back on topic please.

A bear is a worthy opponent wounded or not and most likely will beat any human in a 1on1 encounter. Same as a Puma, etc.

My point still stands a human trying to go 1on1 today with wildlife will get owned. Forget all the TV, etc achievements we did if you are caught in the wild without them you are toast, superior intelligence don't save you.

The question of what the man was doing on the mountain has significant bearing on whether this was indeed a tragedy or simply nemesis. My vote is for the latter.

If the bear was hurt, or gets hunted down as a 'killer', then it's a tragedy.

as part of a local government program to cull the bear population.

Perhaps it would be best to let this guy rest in peace, if possible

cleo.

I fully agree. I hate for an animal to get killed because it did what is natural to it.

Same way I hate for an animal being put down as a killer because some idiot entered its territory/cage/whatever and it did what it is designed to do.

I feel for and love all animals(even the stuff that makes you feel yucky) but at the same time they have been food for millenia. Humans are omnivores and that is a fact.

Hark....? I hear over yonder the call of the wild!

i fought the bear and the bear won.

Are they sure it was a bear? maybe a japanese yeti or one of those criminals that are on those posters. ussualy bears eat a part of the victim. or am i wrong?

It never ceases to amaze me the way they report things like this..."which seem to have been caused by a bear"?

Perhaps it was just a really big dog?

guy with gun vs bear: bear wins. 12 year old girl in tent vs bear: 12 year old girl wins

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/12-year-old-girl-fights-off-bear-in-hokkaido

That's a pretty grim way to die.

I hope the bear got away without two holes in it, that would be cruel. The old guy was a hunter & failed, sorry, but he went where the bears live & got killed by one. I can't feel bad about that.

Zen builder. Are there no supermarkets where you come from, I mean, do you really NEED to go out killing things for food? Maybe it saves money, & maybe if that is true then I'm on the side of boar & I don't wish you luck next time you go out killing. It didn't come looking for you remember.

dennisObauer: Are they sure it was a bear?

Quote: Police found his rifle and two empty cartridges beside his body and injuries all over his body which seem to have been caused by a bear.

No, they aren't.