Why do animals in Japan suddenly 'rebellion', attacking people?

Recently, in Japan, there have been a series of attacks on humans and other unusual behaviors of many animals.

At around 2:00 p.m. on September 9, 2021, a 78-year-old woman living in Wakamatsu City was out in the yard to bring in her dry clothes when she met the eyes of a monkey. She involuntarily asked him: "What are you doing?".

Immediately after, the monkey jumped on top of her, causing the woman to fall. The monkey bit his ankle and started pulling his hair, so the woman took out a slipper she was wearing to hit the monkey on the head. Only then did the "attacker" run away. "Now, I always watch out for monkeys when I go out. Primary school students are also injured, and I hope they find the monkey soon," she said.

In recent years, Japan has had a series of attacks by animals on people in urban areas.

The number of attacks increased abnormally

The summer of 2021 has continuously witnessed monkey attacks in a number of Japanese cities. Victims ranged from children aged 9 to elderly people over 80 years old. The injuries are not usually serious, but happen unexpectedly on the street or in the yard.

In recent years, in Japan, there have been a series of attacks by animals on people in urban areas. In previous years, the number of attacks of wild animals on humans in the land of the rising sun came mostly from bears and wild boar, but this year suddenly recorded a sudden increase in cases. Monkeys, dolphins and even crows attack people.

In July, the city of Yamaguchi in western Japan recorded 42 people injured by monkey attacks. Herds of monkeys swarm the streets of this mountainous city, using their sharp teeth and nails to injure people.

A Yamaguchi city official also said that despite the regular appearance of monkeys around the city, it is very unusual to record such a large number of "fights" between them and humans. People even recorded videos of some monkeys trying to break into the house by breaking the door. Sometimes, they even open the window and break the mosquito net to get in.

Poster warning people to stay away from wild monkeys in Japan last year.

According to AFP, the Yamaguchi City government then had to use tranquilizer guns to deal with the monkeys and one was euthanized.

In August, swimmers in Fukui Prefecture were warned to stay away from dolphins, after it was reported that at least one dolphin had slightly injured six people.

An Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin.

The dolphin, believed to be an adult Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, has bitten swimmers at three beaches in Fukui Prefecture in the Sea of ​​Japan since late July. According to Manichi newspaper. , most of the attacks took place within 10m near the shore. Although dolphins are known for being friendly with humans, they can fight back if they feel threatened.

In the past, the majority of animal attacks in Japan against humans took place in the wild, when some mushroom and wild vegetable pickers encountered aggressive actions from bears. increasing in large cities.

A group of Japanese monkeys.

In June last year, hunters were called in to shoot down a brown bear that injured four people on the outskirts of Sapporo, the largest city on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Authorities had to close down the city's airport, 42 schools and even a military base before the 2m-tall bear was shot.

In the six months to November 2020, a record 13,670 bears were sighted across Japan, with no less than 63 people attacked, two of whom died from their injuries.

In southern Japan, the inhabitants of the tiny island of Kakara are considering evacuating because wild boars have "rioted" everywhere, destroying pumpkin and sweet potato crops and becoming increasingly aggressive. territorial encroachment.

The situation has become so bad that parents no longer allow their children to play outdoors for fear they will be attacked.

Photo of two bears taking to the streets in Shari town, Hokkaido.

This summer, the attack of the "monkey army" attracted great attention from the Japanese media.

The local government in Yamaguchi Prefecture, southern Japan, reported 66 incidents in July alone and advised locals not to make eye contact with a monkey as it could be seen as challenging. and lead to an attack.

Authorities set up traps and conducted patrols, with two particularly aggressive monkeys captured and euthanized.

"I think the statistics confirm that we are seeing more cases (attacks) in recent years than in the past." Abe Mariko of the Japan Nature Conservation Association said.

But why do animals "get angry" at humans?

Climate Change

"It seems that there are a number of factors contributing to this increase in cases, but I think one of the biggest - especially this year - is the impact of climate change," Abe told reporters. DW page.

She said: "Over the past decade or so, the rainy season, which usually lasts about a month from mid-June, has become shorter and the rainfall is less. And this year the phenomenon has turned extreme. Clouds covered in through June, but not enough rain and now we're seeing record high temperatures across the country."

As a result, the food source in the forest is not suitable for the monkey population, which means they have to go elsewhere to find food. Apart from the wilderness, it is clear that only concentrated human settlements remain.

"Another factor is that suburbs are constantly encroaching on animal habitats," she added.

Urbanization and shrinking of the countryside

Kevin Short, a professor specializing in environmental education at Tokyo University of Information Sciences, agrees that habitat loss is a major driver of the increase in the number of wildlife entering urban areas.

He also points out that as Japan's rural population is shrinking, there are fewer wildlife hunters, which has led to an explosion in bears, boar and monkey populations in recent years.

'In the past, these villages used to function as a kind of buffer between the forest and the suburbs and the villagers would exterminate the animals that harmed their crops, etc. With the villages losing all their people,' he said. young and gradually shrinking, with less population preventing wildlife from taking over (the suburbs)".

Behavioral response

"I also feel it means animals are no longer afraid of humans," says Short.

"For example, Japanese monkeys are very intelligent, and once they realize that they don't need to be afraid of humans and that they can effectively bully us, that spreads through the herd very quickly." .

"They have also learned that the suburbs of Japanese towns and cities provide an easy and attractive source of food," he said.

An important issue is that many people are excited to see wild animals appear in the city, so give them food. "Monkeys don't care about humans, so under normal circumstances they wouldn't come close to us," said Tadamori Fujita, a guide at the Takasakiyama Nature Zoological Garden in Oita City.

Photo taken from a video of a monkey trying to get into a house in Yamaguchi in late July.

However, he added, if they are given food, or have succeeded in getting food from humans, they can learn that if they attack humans, they will be able to get food. Additionally, he said, "eye contact is interpreted by monkeys as threatening behavior, so they may attack people thinking they have been provoked. If you come across any monkeys, don't provoke them. them and let go slowly."

With dolphins, local authorities have deployed beach patrols and buoys that emit sonar sound waves to keep them away from beaches, and posted signs warning people not to go near this creature. .

"The bottom line is that these are wild animals that are in their natural habitat. Humans are entering their space, they are not pets, and people can't simply be," Abe said. play with them. People need to learn to stay away from wild animals."

Abe's comments coincide with that of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Normally, any animal can become aggressive if it feels its territory is threatened and will act to protect its habitat, its young and itself as a way of self-defense, especially against herd animals like monkeys.

Sometimes, they also act instinctively in defense when they feel threatened, for example when monkeys are looked in the eye, or when dolphins are touched in unexpected places. While dolphin attacks are extremely rare, they are not unheard of, especially if this intelligent mammal feels threatened.

"There are some body parts that dolphins don't like to be touched, like the tip of their nose and dorsal fin," Masaki Yasui, an official from Japan's tourism promotion department, told AFP, adding. Videos posted on social media show swimmers trying to touch dolphins in Fukui.