GPS data from a Japanese hiker’s smartwatch in Hokkaido revealed his final moments before a fatal bear attack in August.
The GPS data retrieved from a hiker’s smartwatch in Hokkaido, Japan, has provided a chilling account of his final moments before a bear fatally mauled him in August. The device, which saved routes using satellite signals and monitored vital signs, was recovered following the attack, revealing a harrowing record of the man’s last living moments.
Data from the device showed that the man, who was on the Mount Rausu hiking trail, fell down a slope in the forest around 11 am local time, according to a report in the Japan Times.
“In an area of thick brush, it repeatedly circled and passed over the same spot,” the report highlighted, adding that the man likely died about 100 to 130 meters away from the trail, indicating that it was the spot where he took his last breaths after the bear attack.
After the death, the watch stayed in the same spot all night before moving again the next day, around 9 am. The GPS coordinates showed that the watch was moved around several hundred meters through the bush, indicating that the bear returned to drag the man’s body away.
Bears Killed
Three days later, a rescue team found the man’s body being dragged around by a mother brown bear alongside two of her cubs. All three animals were killed on the scene by the authorities. The man’s remaining body parts were found several metres away from where the bears were killed.
Afterwards, the hiker’s recovered body was returned to the Shari Police Station in Hokkaido, where his parents positively identified him. The police advised the parents to only look at the man’s face due to the extent of his injuries.
In 2025 alone, bears have killed a record 13 people in Japan and injured more than 200 others, with reports of the animal roaming around schools and supermarkets becoming a routine occurence.
