Japanese Elementary School Teaches Kids How To Deal With Wild Bears
In central Japan's Nagano Prefecture, Ina Nishi Elementary School is teaching its students how to safely coexist with wild bears amid a surge in sightings and attacks nationwide. Wildlife specialist Takii Akiko leads lessons on bear behavior, while the school has adapted how it gets kids to and from classes when bears are spotted nearby.
Japan Learns To Live With Bears REPORTER: At Ina Nishi Elementary School in central Japan's Nagano Prefecture, a special lesson is underway on the area's wild neighbors. Students run their hands over the fur, claws and skull of an Asian black bear—even pulling on a pair of bear-claw gloves to imagine what it's like to be a bear themselves. REPORTER: Wildlife specialist Takii Akiko walks the children through bear behavior and what bears eat depending on the season. And most importantly, what someone should do if they come face to face with one. REPORTER: Hundreds of kilometers away in northern Japan's Tohoku region, bears have killed at least five people since April 1. Nagano itself is rated "Very High Risk" by a national bear-tracking platform — and the town of Ina has adapted. Aruga Hiroshi (PRINCIPAL, INA NISHI ELEMENTARY SCHOOL): When a bear is sighted twice in two weeks, we switch to a special commuting system. We ask parents to drive their children to school, and the school will bus them home. REPORTER: Students are gaining valuable takeaways from the special class, arranged every two years. Akahane Osuke (STUDENT): Bears no longer get scared of people once they forage and taste human trash. I didn't know that before. REPORTER: It's a lesson Principal Aruga has come to trust himself. Aruga Hiroshi (PRINCIPAL, INA NISHI ELEMENTARY SCHOOL): [Ms. Takii] understands the behavior of wild bears in this area well, and she assures us that they're not aggressive. I' convinced it is safe to live with them as long as humans don't provoke them. REPORTER: With sightings surging across the country, parents and educators here are working to keep Nagano's children safe from the bears.
