Black bears feeding on sika deer captured by snare traps in Karuizawa, Nagano

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  • Minami Masato
    Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University NPO Institute for Biodiversity Research and Education “Earthworm”
  • Kikuchi Tetsuya
    Karuizawa-town Ryoyukai
  • Fukue Yuko
    NPO Institute for Biodiversity Research and Education “Earthworm”

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Other Title
  • ツキノワグマによるくくりわなで捕獲されたニホンジカの摂食―長野県軽井沢町の事例―
  • ツキノワグマ ニ ヨル ククリ ワナ デ ホカク サレタ ニホンジカ ノ セッショク : ナガノケン カルイザワマチ ノ ジレイ

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<p>We report a new problem for snare traps, in addition to the various other problems associated with snare traps. Specifically, we observed an increase in cases in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, at the southern foot of Mt. Asama, where Japanese black bears (Ursus thibetanus) fed on sika deer (Cervus nippon) captured by snare traps. A total of 66 wild boars (Sus scrofa) and 178 deer (40 males and 138 females and fawns) were caught in snare traps between April 2017 and June 2019. From these, at least one boarlet and 64 female deer and fawns were eaten by black bears. However, adult boars and male deer were not attacked or consumed. In addition, the bears buried their prey (one boarlet and 39 deer) to hide them from other predators. Overall, the bears had become considerably more aggressive when searching for deer leftovers, which became dangerous for cullers controlling deer populations in the area and for hikers. In 2019, bears did not seem to be threatened by the presence of humans because they continued to feed on deer. Therefore, for safety reasons, the feeding behavior of bears should be considered when setting traps in bear-inhabited areas.</p>

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