SAPPORO -- Several users of video sharing app TikTok are venturing into forests to capture footage of large wild brown bears. While the realistic sensations created by the videos have elicited support from some users, police and local authorities involved in accident prevention warn that such activities are "extremely dangerous." Still, the TikTokers behind the videos have their own justifications.

In one TikTok video, a male streamer is seen walking along a coastline, apparently in Hokkaido at night, when he encounters a bear.

"Woah, there it is. It's huge, huge, huge! There's a bear, It's a brown bear. It was really big. Man, that was close."

The video contains the label "zero distance," with the distance between the person taking the video and the bear appearing to be less than 10 meters. The bear, seemingly startled by the nearby voice, scampers by and disappears into the darkness.

Since at least 2023, the content creator, shouting in excitement, has repeatedly entered bears' habitats such as mountain forests to capture footage, in some cases livestreaming it.

In another video, a pair of bears -- apparently a mother and her cub -- are seen roaming a mountainside, while a bear is additionally spotted in a river in a mountainous area.

Newspaper companies occasionally photograph bears for reporting purposes. According to a Mainichi Shimbun photographer with extensive experience capturing brown bears, precautions include going together with a guide or expert, using an ultra-telephoto lens and, if the bear appears in an urban area, maintaining distance by shooting from inside a vehicle. "Brown bears are not photo subjects that you should approach alone," the photographer advises.

Looking at the videos online, however, there are no signs that the content creators are taking such precautions, and it appears that they are neither hunting nor conducting academic research.

Some viewers have taken a critical view of their videos, pointing out that the creators are motivated by income from higher view counts and the monetary "gifts" that viewers send them to show their appreciation for the content.

The creators' specific activities besides searching for bears and filming them is unknown.

Police officer turns up during livestream

In late May, another male content creator visited northern Hokkaido to livestream his bear search. During the stream, police, alerted by viewers, arrived at a restaurant where the content creator and his companions were eating and cautioned them.

"We received a report from someone watching the stream. If you plan to go see bears in the future, please take sufficient care. We can only ask you to stop."

The group laughed and pretended to heed the police's advice, and then they continued to venture into the forest at night.

Local police acknowledged that they cautioned the group based on the report, but explained that unless the creators harm the bears or trespass, they cannot forcibly prevent them from approaching or streaming their footage of the animals.

A police official commented, "If they say they are searching for bears, we can only caution them. Approaching the bears is truly dangerous and could be life-threatening." The official added with a frown, "The bears' behavior could change, and it could endanger other people or areas."

Observing without being noticed

So what do content creators have to say for themselves? The streamer who encountered a bear at close range is said to have previously been criticized by viewers and responded with a video.

"In principle, I observe them in a way to avoid being noticed. When I encountered an Asian black bear and its cub in Akita Prefecture, I was moved. Seeing the mother protect its young, I thought it was no different from humans. I felt, 'There's something to convey here,'" the streamer said, explaining the background to delivering the video content.

He further stated, "I think it's wrong to blindly believe only what's reported (in the media). It's a really intense field with many opinions flying around. That's why I decided to do it."

"What's wrong with talking about coexistence?" he went on. "By letting people know about the good parts, not just the dangers, and involving various people, there might be something to gain.

"I hope I can proceed while exploring what I can do for Hokkaido."

Going against bear management

From 2020 to 2024, 33 people were attacked by bears in Hokkaido, seven fatally. In April 2025, a hunter was severely injured by a bear in a mountain forest in the Hokkaido city of Bibai.

Bear chasing for the purpose of video streaming is said to have continued after this incident. While being served a reminder from police, one content creator released a video stating, "We talked about things like bear habits and the purpose of streaming and I got their understanding."

The Hokkaido Prefectural Government is implementing measures to reduce conflicts between bears and humans. Hokkaido's brown bear management plan aims to create zoning to separate human and bear habitats as much as possible with buffer areas. Entering bear habitats unnecessarily goes against this plan and poses a high risk.

The Hokkaido brown bear countermeasures office is aware of the streaming, which it described as "unexpected." An official warned, "we don't anticipate people entering bear habits out of curiosity. The best way to prevent accidents is to avoid encounters with bears. We urge people to act accordingly as it could lead to accidents."

The office notes that the risk of accidents increases from the time bears emerge from hibernation until around June and then again from August onward.

How do experts familiar with internet streaming see the issue?

IT journalist Akiko Takahashi, a visiting professor at Seikei University, says that there are other countries where people take "selfies" with wild animals and share them on social media. In the United States, the issue of people having been attacked and injured by wild bears or American bison while taking selfies has emerged as an issue, and local authorities are warning people not to recklessly approach wild animals.

"The root is the same. It's a result of pursuing easy attention through surprising or unexpected content," Takahashi says.

The initial content creator claims to have a goal of "coexistence" between bears and humans, but Takahashi points out, "It seems like they believe having a theme of coexistence or nature conservation makes it harder to attract criticism." She adds, "It's not good for the bears either, and provoked bears might harm people and end up being euthanized."

(Japanese original by Takumi Taniguchi, Hokkaido News Department)