apan is turning to inventive technology to address a sharp rise in bear encounters, deploying barking drones to scare the animals away from orchards, villages, and popular tourist sites as attacks reach record highs.
In the mountains of Hida City in central Japan, a bright pink, 3-foot-wide drone fitted with cartoon-like googly eyes takes off from a concrete ledge. Developed by Aero Japan and officially known as a Hunting Drone, the device blares loud dog barks through a powerful megaphone while circling an orchard plagued by recent bear sightings. It can also fire small firecrackers from launchers attached to its wings to further drive bears away.
The high-tech drone is part of a new government-backed trial in Gifu Prefecture, launched in response to an alarming increase in bear activity. According to Naofumi Yoshikawa from the prefecture’s environmental affairs department, bear sightings in Hida have risen almost eightfold this autumn compared to the same period last year.
“Working out here, that fear of bears is always there,” said Masahiko Amaki, head of the local orchard cooperative, as the drone’s barking echoed through the valley. A bear-warning sign nearby urged hikers not to walk the trails alone.
Across Japan, bear attacks have soared. Since April, 220 people have been injured and 13 killed, including seven in the past month alone as bears intensify their search for food before hibernation, public broadcaster NHK reported. While many incidents occur in remote areas, the issue gained global attention when a bear cub attacked a Spanish tourist in Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO World Heritage Site about an hour from Hida.
In response, the historical village—known for its scenic, thatched-roof houses—is now filled with warning signs, and visitors can be heard walking with jingling bear bells. Some, like tourist Cornelia Li from Shanghai, have taken extra precautions. “We saw reports of bear sightings before our trip, so we prepared bear bells,” she said as she secured one to her four-year-old daughter’s backpack. Li added that her family chose to stay in cities instead of rural areas due to the risks.
The growing threat has prompted the United States, China, and Britain to issue travel advisories. The U.S. notice cited attacks near populated areas and noted the recent closure of a park next to its consulate in Sapporo after a bear sighting.
Local authorities in Shirakawa-go have stepped up action. Shiroki Mitsunari, the official overseeing wildlife safety, said measures include setting honey-baited traps, cutting down fruit trees that attract bears, and instructing residents and tourists to walk in groups and avoid certain paths after dark. Students walking home from school now carry bells and travel in groups to reduce the risk of surprise encounters.
“You know, we are living in the mountains, and bears are part of our daily reality,” Mitsunari said. “But we felt ashamed that a tourist was attacked. We are determined not to let that happen again.”
Experts link the surge in bear activity to multiple factors: climate change reducing natural food sources like acorns, declining rural populations, expanding abandoned farmland, and a drop in hunting. The population of Asiatic black bears, a globally vulnerable species, is estimated to have tripled in Japan since 2012.
The situation in northern Japan has become so severe that earlier this month, the government deployed the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to assist with bear culling in remote regions.
As winter approaches, officials hope that new technologies—led by the barking drone—will provide a safer buffer between bears and the humans increasingly sharing their territory.
