Hiker’s watch recorded moment man’s heart stopped during bear attack in Japan – National
The smartwatch of a Japanese hiker killed in a bear attack has provided a terrifying glimpse into the man’s final moments, including when the bear allegedly returned to collect his body.
His death comes during a year when the country saw a record number of bear attacks. Thirteen people have died since the beginning of April, according to the Japanese Ministry of the Environment. The total number of attacks stands at 220 – also a record, Japanese newspaper NHK reported in late November, with the highest number of deaths occurring in the northern prefecture of Iwate.
The GPS in the hiker’s watch, which recorded the 1,661-meter route he walked down Mount Rausu in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, and tracked his heart rate, was recovered after the deadly Aug. 14 attack, Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun wrote.
The man was walking about 200 meters ahead of a friend near an area known as the “560-meter rocky peak,” when the friend heard a cry for help and ran down a slope to find the man being dragged by a brown bear into the bushes, according to the Japanese newspaper.
Data from the watch recorded irregular movements around 11 a.m., including a sudden deviation from the hiking trail, a descent down a tree-lined slope and circling in an area thick with foliage, CBS News reported.
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The man’s heart was also shown to have stopped beating between 90 and 120 meters from the trail, indicating he had died.
The watch did not move from the area where the man’s heart stopped throughout the night, but began moving around 9 a.m. the next morning, suggesting the bear returned for his body, which it dragged more than 100 yards through the woods, Asahi wrote.
Three days later, a bear with two cubs was seen dragging the body in its mouth, the outlet added. The hunters killed all three, it is said.
A pile of dirt dug up by the bear was found nearby, and the remains of the man – who had recently become engaged – were discovered, the report added.
The police then asked the man’s parents to go to Shari police station to identify the man’s remains, but advised them to just look at his face due to the extent of his injuries.
The attack in Hokkaido came weeks after a man in a busy urban area of Gunma prefecture near Numata Station, north of Tokyo, was mauled as he came out of a public toilet, suffering minor injuries to his leg.
The bear fled the scene after the man began screaming and kicking its legs in self-defense, The Guardian reported.
The train station where the bear attack took place is located in the center of the town of Numata, close to homes and restaurants, and just one kilometer from the town hall.
The bathroom encounter took place about a month after a bear entered a grocery store in the same urban area and allegedly attacked a person in the parking lot before laying on a customer and ransacking the food counter.
The same week, a man was mauled to death by a bear while picking mushrooms, and another person was found decapitated in a suspected bear attack, marking an increase in such clashes, Japanese officials said.
In response to the surge in attacks, the Japanese government set aside about 3.4 billion yen ($22 million) for bear control measures in a proposed supplementary budget, according to NHK. He also mobilized the military to help local hunters trap bears.
Armed police have also been authorized to shoot animals as local hunting populations decline.
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