The suspect bear was hunted down and killed, but the incident has raised alarm amongst the sansai collecting community. Spring is a difficult time for bear-human relations even without having forced the bears from their winter homes. Highly prized for flavour and nutritional value, certain sansai plants sell for exorbitant prices in grocery stores around Japan. Often oblivious to the danger of bears, people flock to Hokkaido on sansai tours from all over the country. Some types of sansai can be found along the side of the road, but other more treasured varieties require collectors to venture further and further into Hokkaido's wilderness - into Higuma territory.
Bears eat the same sansai that collectors are after.
It is because of this that their paths can cross at untimely moments. It is true the Higuma bear possesses phenomenal strength and is a hunting machine. Stories of how a bear has come down onto farmlands, and single-handedly killed and then dragged away a cow or horse, are not uncommon. In reality, the bear is one of the sansai collector's least concerns. Every year, many people lose their lives collecting edible plants in Hokkaido.