Kobe City

Sometimes the most dangerous animals are not the ones you expect. In the United States, the animal that kills the most people each year is deer from collisions with automobiles. Yes, adorable Bambi itself. Kobe has a similar problem with wild boars. These feral pigs are native everywhere in Japan, called yama kujira – the mountain whale. The creatures are scarcely that large, although they can grow to be over 100 pounds and more. The Japanese boar has little fur and is striped, especially when young. It boasts distinctive white whiskers. For hundreds of years, humans had little contact with boars, who stayed mostly hidden in their mountain forest habitat. The animals were actually venerated in Japanese culture, admired for their bravery and determination. In some places, boars became symbols of prosperity and fertility. Boars are coming down from the hills But in recent years, the boars have become increasingly common in farmers’ fields, perhaps due to a reduction of their traditional habitat. They destroy crops and threaten to ruin the farms financially. The beleaguered landowners try increasingly imaginative ways to deal with the invaders, from spicy hot peppers spread on the ground to actual trapping and hunting. Japan has…