Bear attacks in Japan have been in the news a lot recently. There have been over 220 attacks so far this year, and a record 13 people dead. 

Why is this happening? And what can be done about it? There’s a lot of information out there, and it’s hard to separate fact from fiction when it comes to conflicts with wildlife.

So I made two quick phone calls: one to a reporter from The New York Times and another to a Japanese bear biologist to figure out what’s really going on.

Guests:
Javier C. Hernández, Tokyo Bureau Chief for the New York Times
Masahiro (Masa) Ohnishi, Principle Research Scientist at the Wildlife Management Office in Japan

Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife  and you can donate to KUOW at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you.

Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action!

THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership withChris Morgan Wildlife andWildlife Media. It is produced byMatt Martin andLucy Soucek, and edited byJim Gates. It is hosted, produced and written by Chris Morgan. Fact checking byApryle Craig. Our theme music is byMichael Parker.

Bear attacks in Japan have been in the news a lot recently. There have been over 220 attacks so far this year, and a record 13 people dead.&nbsp;
Why is this happening? And what can be done about it? There&rsquo;s a lot of information out there, and it&rsquo;s hard to separate fact from fiction when it comes to conflicts with wildlife.
So I made two quick phone calls: one to a reporter from The New York Times and another to a Japanese bear biologist to figure out what&rsquo;s really going on.
Guests: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/world/asia/japan-bears-attacks.html">Javier C. Hern&aacute;ndez</a>, Tokyo Bureau Chief for the New York Times Masahiro (Masa) Ohnishi, Principle Research Scientist at the Wildlife Management Office in Japan
Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.patreon.com%2Fchrismorganwildlife&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cjgates%40kuow.org%7C38749ede12834c67efb108ddf619cf0f%7C3d57c1b8f4ae4639adb13312ae3bc827%7C0%7C0%7C638937312905088453%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=2p7KcfrLRWd9OZwpuK48wt6m4H6QIBigD8ksBGaU5%2BM%3D&amp;reserved=0">www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife</a>&nbsp; and you can donate to KUOW at <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fkuow.org%2Fdonate%2Fthewild&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cjgates%40kuow.org%7C38749ede12834c67efb108ddf619cf0f%7C3d57c1b8f4ae4639adb13312ae3bc827%7C0%7C0%7C638937312905110715%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=fY%2BfVkv0ijLWRX%2FXqzbV4gTRwyWYG4%2FTkgyud44SUWc%3D&amp;reserved=0">kuow.org/donate/thewild</a>. Thank you.
Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action!
THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with<a href="https://www.chrismorganwildlife.org/"> Chris Morgan Wildlife</a> and<a href="https://www.wildlifemedia.org/"> Wildlife Media</a>. It is produced by<a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/matt-martin"> Matt Martin</a> and<a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/lucy-soucek"> Lucy Soucek</a>, and edited by<a href="https://kuow.org/authors/jim-gates"> Jim Gates</a>. It is hosted, produced and written by <a href="https://www.chrismorganwildlife.org/bio">Chris Morgan</a>. Fact checking by<a href="https://apryledcraig.wordpress.com/"> Apryle Craig</a>. Our theme music is by<a href="https://www.michaeltparker.com/"> Michael Parker</a>.

THE WILD with Chris Morgan brings stories from the natural world right to your ears in a beautifully immersive way. You’ll feel like you are right there with Chris in wild places all over the world, alongside wildlife ecologists, researchers and colorful characters on the front line.

THE WILD with Chris Morgan brings stories from the natural world right to your ears in a beautifully immersive way. You&rsquo;ll feel like you are right there with Chris in wild places all over the world, alongside wildlife ecologists, researchers and colorful characters on the front line.

The Wild with Chris Morgan

The Wild with Chris Morgan brings stories from the natural world right to your ears in a beautifully immersive way. You’ll feel like you are right there with Chris in wild places all over the world, alongside wildlife ecologists, researchers and colorful characters on the front line.

The Wild with Chris Morgan brings stories from the natural world right to your ears in a beautifully immersive way. You&rsquo;ll feel like you are right there with Chris in wild places all over the world, alongside wildlife ecologists, researchers and colorful characters on the front line.

Bear attacks in Japan have been on the rise recently. So why is this happening? And what can be done about it? 

Advertisement