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In 2025, Japan broke records for total and fatal bear attacks. There were 230 attacks and 13 fatalities, more than double the previous record of 6 fatalities in one year. Japan collects bear statistics by fiscal year, from April 1 to March 31. 2026 is off to a bad start. Five fatalities have been identified from April 1 to June 30. The previous record was two fatalities during April 1 to June 30. Bear attacks tend to trail off in July and August, and pick up significantly in September, October and November. Bears in Japan start hibernating in December. Another...

A black bear consumed the body of a person whose remains were found by officers in Mesa County, according to the sheriff's office. Investigators with the Mesa County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of potential human remains found near the Wild Rose Picnic Area off of Lands End Road on the Grand Mesa, according to a sheriff's office news release July 9. When investigators arrived, they found the remains scattered and scavenged and determined the deceased had been consumed by a "bear and likely other wildlife." Investigators confirmed the remains were human, prompting a death investigation ... Witnesses who...

A woman unleashed bear spray at a Lower Manhattan hotel Monday while fighting over luggage with another lady she went to a Pride Week event with — leaving eight people needing medical treatment, cops and sources said. The unidentified suspect discharged the mace just after 8 a.m. inside a room at the DoubleTree by Hilton New York Downtown hotel on Stone Street near Whitehall Street, during a spat with a 28-year-old woman, according to police and sources. The two women, who were staying at the hotel, knew each other and had gone to a Pride event together the night before...

Anthony Puglisi, Essex County’s public information director, said that, at around noon the bear entered Essex County Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange. When the bear was spotted in the zoo, Puglisi said employees and visitors were directed to shelter in place in buildings on zoo property. “At no time did the bear come in contact with any humans, and everyone was safely evacuated from the zoo with assistance from the Essex County Sheriff’s Office,” Puglisi said. The zoo was closed for the rest of Monday as authorities worked to track the bear. NJ Fish and Wildlife were notified. The...

Lori Price successfully defended herself from a black bear attack in Alaska. Her dog was severely wounded by the bear. Then the bear came after her. She used a 9mm Glock 43 to defend herself. Joe Allgood interviewed her for In Depth Alaska (video link). On Sunday, June 7, 2026, Lori Price was hunting for mushrooms near Skilak Lake. Skilak Lake is south of Highway 1 on the Kenai Peninsula, about 20 miles east of Soldotna, Alaska. She was almost ready to go home. She had two dogs with her, a chocolate lab, Willis and Chaos her German short-hair. The...

More than three weeks after an apparent bear killed a 33-year-old hiker in Glacier National Park, questions continue to linger about what wildlife officials called a “stunningly rare” incident. At the top of the list, wildlife experts are trying to assess what triggered the possible conflict, which could affect what happens to the bear involved, if anything. Anthony Pollio of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was reported missing May 4 after he didn’t return from a hike on the west side of Glacier Park the previous day. Two days later, his remains were discovered about 50 feet off the Mt. Brown Trail...

Japan's Environment Ministry said 13 people were killed in more than 230 bear attacks in 2025, exceeding the number of fatalities and attacks in any preceding year. A bear injured four people in a residential area of Japan on Tuesday in the latest case of an attack by the animals in an area of the country where bears have increasingly encroached on the human population in recent years. Police and fire department officials rushed to the scene in the Sasakino district of Fukushima in northeastern Japan after receiving an emergency call from the Fukushima Steel Works reporting bear attacks on...

The recent fatal bear attack where 33-Year-Old Anthony Pollio was killed by a bear, about May 3, 2026, on the Mount Brown trail in Glacier National Park, is not the first bear attack on the trail. Some online sources are saying an empty can of bear spray was found at the attack site. If so, the attack is another case where bear spray was used in defense against a bear, and people died.There have been at least nine deaths associated with the use of bear spray in defense against a bear. There have not been any recorded deaths when a...

In the continuing study of how effective handguns are when used as a defense against bears, I posted two articles on Ammoland showing the distribution of the number of cases vs the number of shots fired. The first article was for the statistics for all cases, which included brown bears, black bears and polar bears. The second article separated out the statistics for brown bears. Unsurprisingly, ursus arctos (brown bears, grizzly bears and Kodiak bears) showed more shots being fired per case than black bears and polar bears. This article shows the statistics for black bears and polar bears. There...

Sources: books, articles, papers, interviews, FOIA requests In the ongoing study of how effective handguns are when used as a defense against bears, this correspondent posted an article on AmmoLand showing the distribution of the number of shots fired vs the number of cases. The most common case was one shot fired, with the least common cases having the most shots fired. On examining the data, there is a significant difference noted among bear species.In cases involving brown bears, grizzly bears, Kodiak bears, (ursus arctos) more shots are fired per case.There are 109 total handgun-only cases involving Ursus arctos, of...

In the ongoing study of the effectiveness of handguns as a defense against bears, there are over 200 documented cases. Of those, 184 involve only handguns. The others are combination situations where other deadly force was used in addition to handguns. Of the 184 cases, 161 include information about the number of shots fired. In 23 cases, the number of shots is not known.The data is likely skewed by unavoidable selection bias. The data is limited to cases that are documented. There is a strong selection bias against cases that do not involve dramatic outcomes or human injury, or that...

Two U.S. Army soldiers were seriously injured after encountering a brown bear during a training exercise at a military installation in Alaska, officials said Sunday, according to ABC News. The soldiers, assigned to the 11th Airborne Division, were participating in a land navigation training exercise at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson when they encountered the animal, according to an Army statement. Officials said the soldiers were equipped with bear spray and deployed it during the encounter. Few additional details about how the incident unfolded were immediately released

One theory about defending against bear attacks is this: Defenders must be careful not to shoot a bear without immediately killing it, because wounded bears are more likely to attack. The theory has been put forward for many decades. One of those who put the theory up for consideration was Stephen Herrero in his book, “Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance“. On page 241 of the 1985 edition, Herrero writes: Of course, if an aggressive bear actually attacks you or a companion, a firearm may be a lifesaver, or it may cause a wounded bear to intensify its attack. Herrero...

A northern New Mexico family is thanking their 12-year-old half-blind dog for fighting off a bear and protecting dozens of animals including 60 chickens. The Martinez family said their dog Honey got hurt on the night of March 3 while tracking something on their family land in Cordova, where they raise chickens, horses and dogs. “She was tracking something at the time. We didn’t know what, but we knew she was tracking something,” said Denise Martinez. The family said they found Honey in the driveway the next morning with major injuries. They said they saw scratches on fences and trees,...

Public domain map showing area of the two bear attacks. On February 15, 2026, a Slovenian father and son used a handgun or handguns to defend against an attacking European brown bear, ursus arctos. From bernama.com:Environment state secretary Filip Kuffa said the father and son had been inspecting timber in a mountain forest with a hunting dog when the bear attacked unexpectedly.According to Mr Kuffa, the father fired several shots from his pistol in self-defence, but the bear knocked him to the ground and bit him repeatedly.His son then shot and killed the animal with a handgun.The incident has been...

Three bears were caught on camera charging through a ski slope right through on-coming skiers at Northstar California Resort. 😱🐻

A Paleolithic teenaged boy whose remains were discovered in northwest Italy's Ardene Candide cave in 1942 immediately earned the nickname Il Principe, or "the Prince," because of the richness of the grave goods found in his 27,500-year-old burial. Researchers noticed that he had also suffered traumatic injuries to his upper body, but at the time they were unable to establish exactly what had happened to him. According to a statement issued by the University of Montreal, an international team of researchers has finally determined that the young man was likely attacked by a bear. The team reexamined the boy's skeletal...

Does anyone have a recollection of Tom Smith, the bear researcher, telling of a time when he and another were doing bear research and the companion shot a handgun but missed all the shots at the bear? I have a vague recollection, but cannot find a source. I thought it was in an interview by Tom Smith, maybe in a hunting or outdoor publication. If anyone remembers such a thing, please reply.

During 2025, a saga unfolded where a dangerous, food-habituated grizzly bear swam across three miles of saltwater to Texada Island in British Columbia, Canada. The bear had been tagged in the left ear. It was a young boar about 4 years old that had been relocated twice due to conflicts with humans. The bear kept coming back. Just before the swim, the bear had been breaking into fishing boats and had stalked two teenagers on the beach. They had to take to the water to avoid the bear on May 22, 2025. COS is the acronym for the Conservation Officers...

The pellet appears to be .177 caliber, using the knife bolt head to scale the pellet size. The bolt head is assumed to be .25 inches, the size of a bolt head on Outdoor Edge Razor-Lite knives. The knife seems to be a Outdoor Edge Razor-Lite variation, but the identification is not certain. The pellet could be distorted by impact forces, as well. On September 1, 2024, in Willits, Colorado, a resident shot a black bear sow with a pellet rifle. The man said he was attempting to harass the sow to have it move away from his neighborhood, because...