Actions
Protecting bears means protecting the forest and securing a water source for eternity
Bears are at the top of the ecological pyramid in Japan and require large areas of land rich in nature to survive. Therefore, leaving bears in the wild guarantees the survival of humans and other living species.
Starting with bears, rather than hunting and killing wild animals, we need to regenerate their habitat so they can return to the mountains, allowing humans and animals to live separately and coexist.
Investigating the accidents that took place between bears and humans as well as taking accident prevention measures
When a bear appears near a human village or an accident occurs, many bears are set in traps and killed. To prevent tragic accidents and killings of the bears, we go to the scene, talk to local people, and take measures to prevent recurrence, such as avoiding mowing the grass and removing things that could attract the bears.
Bear habitat and ecological research
Research that puts a burden on bears, such as capturing bears and then anesthetizing them to attach a radio collar goes against bioethics. Therefore, we investigate the habitation and behavior of the bears with the use of automatic cameras to examine footprints, claw marks, food marks, feces, and bear nests.
Protective breeding of bears
Kumamori protects bears that have no where to go. We observe and interact with them to further our understanding of them. We believe that by learning about the habits of bears and getting to know them, humans will be comfortable with them and will be more motivated to coexist with them.
Proposing countermeasures to avoid capturing and killing wild animals
Hunting and killing of wild animals take place across the country to prevent crop damage caused by wild animals and the expansion of the wild distribution of invasive species. Kumamori is currently demanding the government take countermeasures that don’t involve capturing and killing.
Initiatives to get rid of non-native species
Non-native species were brought into Japan by humans without a thorough study of whether it is possible to live or be harmful to the native ecosystems. Due to this, they are being executed for being “non-native species” as they have a possibility of harming the native ecosystem. Kumamori believes that the solution to this problem should take the lives of the animals into consideration.
Minamiuonuma, Niigata Prefecture;
Saving the life of
a parent and cub bear
In 2019, Niigata Prefecture had a bad acorn harvest. The bears that had not been able to eat before winter came out of the mountains one by one and all of them were captured. In November, a mother bear and her two cubs were about to hibernate near the clinic in Minamiuonuma. The employees of Kumamori left Kumamori Headquarters in the middle of the night and drove toward Niigata, determined to make it in time before the bears were killed. We adopted a mother and a cub and cared for them until spring when we safely them released back to the mountain of Niigata. What we learned from this emotional experience was that they were the same as a human relationship. We want to help as many bears in Niigata and create a trend toward coexistence.
Efforts in Hyogo prefecture to keep bears away from
villages
In the past, when there has been an accident involving people and bears appearing near a village, we have rushed to the scene and worked with the local community to investigate the cause and take preventive measures. In 2021, when a bear appears near a village, a wildlife officer from Toyooka City will call our association before setting a trap, and at the request of the city, our association will rush to the spot five times. We responded accordingly. The main measures to take are ① Mowing the grass to create space to prevent bears from hiding in the bushes behind villages and houses. ② Remove unnecessary fruit trees such as persimmons from private houses, and perform pruning and felling of persimmon trees according to local requests. These efforts made it possible to move the bear away from the village when it approaches. The local area is experiencing depopulation and an aging population, so they were very pleased with this kind of activity.
Protection over “Toyo”, a bear that was wrongly captured in Osaka prefecture
In June 2014, a 4-year-old male bear was accidentally caught in a boar trap in Toyono district in Osaka Prefecture. It was the first time I had ever seen a bear in Osaka Prefecture. Animals that are accidentally captured are supposed to be released, but Osaka Prefecture, fearing an accident that could result in injury or death for civilians, searched for a home for the bear. But it wasn’t found. Our association did our best to urge Osaka and Kyoto prefectures to move the bear, which had been kept in a steel drum, into a brown bear transport cage where it was brought from Akita Prefecture and released into the mountains. However, Osaka prefecture decided to kill the bear.
When I searched for a place to keep the animal in order to save its life, the chief priest of Kodaiji Temple in Toyono district, Osaka Prefecture offered to take it under protection, saying, “It would be pitiful to kill it.” Our association collected donations from all over the country and began constructing the animal shelter. The animal house was completed in April 2015 and the bear, which was named Toyo, was released from his cramped transport cage for the first time in 295 days.
Toyo initially had a strong fear of people, and would often threaten and run away when people approached. However, thanks to the warm support of the people at Kodaiji Temple and the Kumamori volunteers, he is now able to eat meals comfortably next to his caregivers.
Kumamori's Activities To Protect Water Sources, Forests And The Wildlife
We have organize many activities to protect the forest and coexist with all living things.
