Salmon shortage leads to brown bear cubs dying of hunger

Hunting for food: An estimated 70% to 80% of brown bear cubs born this year are dead, said a researcher. — The Straits Times/ANN

Brown bears usually wait to feed on pink salmon swimming upstream at the estuaries in Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido from mid-August to early October.

In 2023, they have been unable to find the fish at the mouths of the rivers, reported The Asahi Shimbun on Monday. Instead, the brown bears have been swimming in the sea to look for food.