The Grandmother and Kamirama Mountains, also known as the backbone of Kyushu, are the mountains of the Kyushu region. The black bears that inhabited these mountains once reigned at the top of the ecosystem here. However, since 1987, when a bear was captured in the mountains of Mt. In 2012, the Ministry of the Environment officially declared the black bears of Kyushu "extinct.

The Grandmother and Kamirama Mountains, also known as the backbone of Kyushu, are the mountains of the Kyushu region. The black bears that inhabited these mountains once reigned at the top of the ecosystem here. However, since 1987, when a bear was captured in the mountains of Mt. In 2012, the Ministry of the Environment officially declared the black bears of Kyushu "extinct.

In this mountain range, bears were hunted for their pelts and medicinal purposes from the Edo period through the Meiji and early Showa periods, and were pursued relentlessly. The few sightings and traces that have remained since the 1970s are like faint whispers left behind by memories of the past.

DNA analysis of the 1987 capture, which attracted much attention, revealed the possibility that it had been brought in from Honshu. In other words, the Kyushu native population may have already perished before then. However, the mountain people continue to tell their story - "There are still bears in Mt. Footprints, crushed bark, and crushed underbrush appear in the mist-shrouded valley. Each one of these things supports the legend like a ghost.

Today, the area is protected as a national park and serves as a refuge for rare animals such as Japanese serow and dormouse. The disappearance of the black bear, however, has left a void in the silence of the mountains. Perhaps it is the absence of the bear that leaves a strong memory of its presence. In the deep forests of Mt.