ヒグマの事故を受けて
そういえばかつて森の素晴らしさを伝えたくて立山の入口の美女平で森ツアーをしていたころがあったんけど(過去はみんな黒歴史さ（笑）)
猿の集団が美女平駅周辺をうろうろしていて、観光客も面白がって餌付けをしたりするもんだからすっかり人慣れしていてね。俺は行き着く先は害獣駆除になることを知っていたので、全力で猿を威嚇して大声だして木の枝ぶん投げて怖がらせた事がある。引き連れていたお客さんはドン引きだったし、自然の素晴らしさを伝えるとか言ってるガイドが何してんの？って感じただろうと思う。
でもうちの家の裏にも農作物を狙って猿の集団が来るんだけど、やっぱりしっかり威嚇して怖がらせて人里との境界線を作るとしばらく被害はなくなる。相手は素晴らしい生命であり尊いんだろうけど動物は動物。大事な農作物を奪われると腹立つし言語はわからないから、やっぱりちゃんと俺が行動で怖がらせてちゃんと境界線を作ったほうがいいと思う。
具体的にどうするかというと、逃げ遅れた最後の1匹に狙いをつけて、最後の1匹が山に帰れなくなるくらい長い棒で追い詰めて、群れの仲間が山で悲しそうに行く末を見守るくらい徹底的に怖がらせる。長時間執拗にいじめる。徹底的に。もうここへ来てはいけないよ。くそみたいな酷いおっさんがいるよ。有害駆除されるよりマシだと信じていつもそんな感じでいじめてる。
うちの裏山には月の輪熊もでるんだけど、いちいち通報なんてしないし何回か見たけど俺は誰にも言わない。別に興奮もしない。普通のこと。誰かに言ってもめんどうだし熊も猿も猪も鹿も生きるのに必死で臆病なかわい子ちゃんだし、結局人間が一番怖いし。
世間の倫理観とか動物愛護とか知らんけど、俺はそんな感じで近所の野生動物と接して山村で生きている。ただそうしてるよってだけなんだけど大事なのは相手のことをよく知る事じゃないかな。なんでそういう行動にでたのか。どんな習性があるのか。その時期はどんなものを食べてるのか。子供を守るためにどんな行動にでるのか。知れば知るほど恐れは少なくなる。どう向き合えば良いかわかる。
先進国で人の生息圏に四つ足動物がいる珍しい自然環境である日本。動物達と上手に共存していけたらいいなと願う。
On the Brown Bear Incident — The Boundary Between Wildlife and Human Settlements
In response to the brown bear incident.
I once led forest tours at Bijodaira, near the entrance to Mt. Tateyama, hoping to share the wonders of the forest (though those days are all part of my dark history now, haha).
Groups of monkeys roamed near Bijodaira Station. Tourists sometimes fed them for fun, so they had become accustomed to people. Knowing that this could eventually lead to their being classified as pests and culled, I once did everything I could to frighten them away, shouting loudly and throwing branches. The guests with me were stunned; they probably wondered what a guide who talked about nature’s wonders was doing.
Groups of monkeys also come behind my house to target our crops. When I scare them away and establish a clear boundary between the village and their habitat, the damage stops for a while. They are precious living creatures, but they are still animals. It angers me when they take our crops, and they do not understand words, so I believe I need to make that boundary clear through my actions.
My approach is to focus on the last one that is slow to escape and drive it back toward the mountain with a long stick, frightening it thoroughly—even to the point where its troop watches from the mountain. I keep at it for a long time. Thoroughly. “Don’t come here again. There’s a lousy old man here.” I do this because I believe it is better than having them culled as pests.
Asiatic black bears also appear in the hills behind our house. I do not report every sighting; I have seen them several times and have not told anyone. It does not excite me. It is simply part of life here. It is a hassle to report, and bears, monkeys, wild boars, and deer are timid creatures doing their best to survive. In the end, humans are what they fear most.
I do not know about society’s ethics or animal-welfare ideals. This is how I live in a mountain village alongside the wildlife nearby. The important thing is to understand the other creature: Why did it behave that way? What are its habits? What does it eat at this time of year? How does it protect its young? The more we learn, the less afraid we become, and the better we understand how to respond.
Japan is a rare natural environment among developed countries, with four-legged wildlife living within human habitats. I hope we can find ways to coexist well with these animals.
