Japan Just Deployed Troops to Deal With a Surge in Bear Attacks

Japan is at war. Not literally. But kind of.

Japan has essentially declared war on bears, Reuters reports. On Wednesday, the country’s Self-Defense Forces were deployed into the mountain town of Kazuno in the Akita Prefecture, strapped to the gills with body armor and bear traps to help deal with an unprecedented surge in bear attacks terrorizing northern communities.

Since April, more than 100 people have been mauled by bears, resulting in 12 fatalities. That’s the highest that number has been in decades. Akita and the nearby Iwate prefectures account for most of the deaths. Authorities say bear sightings in Akita have skyrocketed sixfold this year to more than 8,000, prompting the prefecture’s governor to call in the troops for backup.

Taking matters into their own hands, residents ha