Gifu Prefecture Issues Bear Warning After Woman was Attacked; Bear Location Remains Unconfirmed

The Yomiuri Shimbun

10:59 JST, June 13, 2024

GERO, Gifu — A woman in her 80s suffered serious head injuries and was taken to the hospital after being attacked by a bear in a field near an inn in Gero, Gifu Prefecture, at about 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The prefectural government was prompted to issue a warning the following day.

This was the first case in the prefecture in which a bear has attacked a resident this fiscal year.

According to the city, the bear that attacked the woman was a cub, and it attacked her from behind. After receiving the report about the attack, city officials patrolled around the area in the early morning on Wednesday, but they were unable to locate the bear. There have been 11 reports of bear sightings in the city so far this fiscal year.

According to the prefectural government, there have already been 90 bear sightings in the prefecture this fiscal year as of Wednesday.