YouTuber Bob Gymlan writes “This video is about the most infamous bear attack in recorded history. It occurred near the end of 1915, on Hokkaido, Japan’s most northerly main island. An Ussuri brown bear awoke from hibernation, and its insatiable hunger wrought a vicious ruination to a village, and three families.
As is often the case, this harrowing story of survival sounds like fiction at times, but it is all too true. This sad story has a hero’s redemption, love destroyed, blunders, and ultimate success. This story is scary, frightening, unbelievable, dramatic, but most of all, true. Many sources say that the bear was responsible for six victims, but I put the count at 12. This video also gets into another attack, that you literally will not believe.”
Greg O
There are historical accounts of large coastal brown bears all the way south to N California. Some claim they were larger than Kodiaks having a longer season.