In rural Japan, a gunshot rings out.
A bear slumps in a cage.
This brown bear got too close to a human community.
It wasn't right here, but over that way, in the
middle of the town and on the roads close by.
In this kind of situation, we have no choice other
than to trap them.
Bears are making their way closer to homes and putting
people's lives at risk.
Keeping the townspeople safe often falls on the shoulders of
a dwindling band of aging hunters like 75 year old
Haruo Ikegami.
I'm often the first one that gets there when they're
caught like this.
And I always say, oh, come on, you're already in
there.
I can't bear it.
Once a common sight among the trees, hunters like Ikagami
are now older and fewer in number than before.
Japan's population is both aging and shrinking.
As of 2020, about 60% of gun license holders like
Ikagami are over 60.
And in areas where bears roam, some residents wonder what
will happen when these hunters can no longer do their
job.
In the town of Nye Tatsu, Hito Yamagishi has accused
the local government of taking hunters for granted.
They say we should train new hunters, but there's nothing
specific on how we should do this.
Who's going to hold the training sessions and the workshops
in a few years time when we are all over
70 years old?
Will there even be anybody left who could teach people
how to hunt beers even if they wanted to?
Local government declined to comment on the dispute with Yamagishi
but said officials were taking steps to address the bear
problem.
Japan's environment ministry says it subsidizes local governments to train
officials and conduct bear drills.
But the country's reliance on recreational bear hunters could become
unsustainable, according to the hunters themselves, officials, residents and experts.
Reuters spoke to.
Both black and brown bears habitats have been expanding, in
part because of depopulation in rural areas, experts say.
Some believe this and less managed farmland may be making
bears more daring.
And the animals appear to be raising Cubs closer to
human settlements, causing them to fear people less than before.
All this has contributed to an increase in human bear
incidents in the 12 months through March.
Twenty, 24219 people were attacked, 6 fatally.
More than 9000 black and brown bears were trapped and
culled over that.
According to Japan's environment ministry, 84 year old Katsuo Harada
carries scars from over 20 years ago when a bear
sank its teeth into his skull.
It was like it was gnawing on a raw radish,
scraping and crunching.
I passed out at the sound and I don't know
what happened beyond that.
Harada is now part of a group that helps keep
problematic wildlife at Bay.
I feel that I have to protect the people living
here.
Whenever I set a trap.
You saw today, there are four locations.
I'm driven forward by the thought that if I hadn't
laid the traps, someone could have been killed.
One common way to trap bears is by using a
large cage with bait like a deer carcass, salmon or
honey.
The trap is designed so that the creature steps on
a metal plate when it goes near the bait, triggering
the door to close.
The local authorities then make a call on what to
do with the animal and may involve licensed hunters to
kill it.
The trapped bear is looked after and fed until it
is called.
As an alternative solution, some companies are turning to technology.
This monster wolf robot growls, barks and emits threats.
Costing about $2500, it is triggered by a sensor and
powered by solar energy.
It has shown some success, but Yamagishi explains that it
takes years for humans to learn how to trap bears
and insists their expertise will remain indispensable.
Responding to the increase in attacks, the Japanese government this
year proposed relaxing rules around gun use to make it
easier to shoot bears in urban areas.
But hunters say it's hard to find new recruits because
the job is expensive, unappealing and exhausting.
Some get ¥8000 or about $50 from local governments for
a bear cull.
This might cover expenses and fuel, Ikegami says, but little
else.
A system is needed, they suggest, where hunters are paid
enough to support a family.
Because if the younger generation doesn't take up the torch,
the last line of defense will soon be gone.