HOKKAIDO, JAPAN — In the dense, silent forests of northern Japan, a piece of technology designed to monitor fitness and health became the sole witness to a tragedy. A GPS watch belonging to a Japanese hiker has provided investigators with a chilling minute-by-minute account of his death, revealing not only the moment his heart stopped but the terrifying reality that the predator returned for him the following day.
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| A warning sign is seen at the closed walking trail to the observatory in the Shirakawago district, a UNESCO World Heritage site, on October 7, 2025 in Hida, Gifu Prefecture of Japan. / Credit: VCG/VCG via Getty Images. |
The Digital Timeline of a Tragedy
The victim, a young man who was engaged to be married, was hiking in Hokkaido on August 14 when he encountered a brown bear Japan’s largest land predator. While there were no human witnesses, data retrieved from his smartwatch painted a gruesome picture of the attack:
11:00 AM: The hiker’s GPS signal suddenly deviated from the established trail, moving rapidly down a forested slope. This indicates the moment of the initial ambush or flight.
The Struggle: In an area of thick brush, the GPS tracker recorded erratic movements, repeatedly circling and passing over the same spot, suggesting a desperate struggle.
The Heart stops: The device’s heart rate monitor recorded the man’s pulse stopping approximately 100 to 130 yards from the main trail. He died alone in the brush.
The Return: Perhaps the most macabre detail revealed by the data occurred the next morning. After remaining stationary all night, the watch began moving again at 9:00 AM. It traveled several hundred yards through the undergrowth.
According to the Asahi Shimbun, this movement confirms that the bear returned to the site of the kill and dragged the body away.
Three days later, hunters located a brown bear accompanied by two cubs dragging the victim's body. All three animals were dispatched. The brutality of the attack was such that police advised the victim's parents to view only his face for identification.
A "Bear Emergency" in Japan
This tragedy is not an isolated incident but the grim peak of a record-breaking year for bear attacks in Japan. The country is grappling with an unprecedented ecological crisis:
Record Casualties: Bears have killed a record 13 people this year and injured over 200 others.
Urban Invasion: No longer confined to deep woods, bears have been reported rampaging through supermarkets, loitering near schools, and wandering into residential areas, sparking panic in rural communities.
The Winter Nightmare: Chased on the Slopes
Traditionally, winter brings a reprieve as bears enter hibernation. However, unseasonably warm weather has disrupted their biological clocks, leading to terrifying encounters in places previously thought safe—ski resorts.
In the Nagano region, famous for its winter sports, a snowboarder recently captured viral footage of a bear chasing him down a piste.
"When I turned, there was a bear. I was surprised," the snowboarder told TV Asahi. "It nearly collided with me... and our eyes met."
Fortunately, the bear gave up the chase and returned to the treeline. However, resorts like Hakuba47 Mountain Sports Park remain on high alert, conducting daily patrols to check for footprints as the animals remain active despite the snow.
Why is this Happening?
Experts point to a "perfect storm" of environmental and demographic factors driving the bears closer to humans:
Climate Change & Famine: A severe shortage of acorns and nuts the bears' primary pre-hibernation fuel has been blamed on climate erraticism. Starving bears are forced out of their territories to scavenge for food.
Insomnia: Warmer winters are delaying, or in some cases preventing, hibernation.
The "Human Vacuum": Japan’s rapidly aging population and rural depopulation mean that fringe villages are emptying out. Biologist Koji Yamazaki notes that this abandonment has removed the "buffer zone" between wilderness and civilization, giving bears "a chance to expand their range" into areas once occupied by people.
As the line between the wild and the urban blurs, Japan faces a difficult future where encounters with these 1,100-pound predators may become the new normal.