Asian black bear sightings in Japan reached an all-time high of?50,776 in?fiscal 2025,?the environment ministry announced Monday.
This is the highest number of sightings recorded since the ministry began taking count in 2009 and also more than double the previous record of 24,348 in fiscal 2023.?
The number of bears captured, including brown bears, also rose to an all-time high last year. At 14,720, it had grown almost three times of what it was the previous year when it was just a little over 5,000.
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