Mama Bear Attacks Driver Head-on, Smashes Truck Windshield

A mama brown bear gave two men driving on a forest road in Japan the scare of a lifetime after a sudden attack.

According to the Japanese newspaper The Mainichi Shimbun, the attack took place around 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 28, on a road in Hokkaido prefecture as the men attempted to pick Allium ochotense, a type of wild onion.

The men reported seeing the brown bear, thought to be female, and its cub on each side of the road. In recently released dashcam footage, the men are seen driving down the road as the bear jumps out of the woods and immediately begins running toward their truck.

Within seconds, the bear arrived at the truck’s windshield and hit its wiper. After giving it one strike, the wiper is seen dangling off the window.

As the vehicle attempts to back up, the bear takes a few steps back before charging at it once again, cracking the windshield.

The video then cuts to a photo of the truck displaying additional damage near its front bumper and rear door.

According to NHK Japan, the men were not injured.

As for what might have caused the bear to attack, Masami Yamanaka, a special researcher at the Shiretoko Nature Foundation, explained to The Mainichi Shimbun, “The car got between the parent and cub. Since the car approached before the parent bear could escape with its cub, the bear likely decided that it had no choice but to attack.”

Police are urging residents to take precautions when going to the mountains, reports NHK Japan.

“Prefectural officials say more than 12,000 brown bears were estimated to inhabit Hokkaido as of the end of 2022. The figure increased 2.3-fold over the past three decades,” the outlet explains.

According to CBS News, 2023 was a record year for bear attacks in Japan. Out of the 193 bear attacks that were reported, six of them resulted in fatalities, the most since 2006.

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The U.S. National Park Service advises that one of the best tips to avoid being attacked by a bear after an encounter is to avoid any surprising movements and to keep at a safe distance.