[Event Report] Budding Bear Dog Interaction Event - Hello, Sushana!

" " holds lectures and workshops under the theme of "enriching life in Karuizawa."Hoshino Community BaseAt Karuizawa Bear Park, coexistence with bears, which symbolize the rich natural environment of Karuizawa, is one of the major concerns. Bear dogs are essential to Karuizawa's bear conservation and management activities. As a new development, we welcomed "Sushana" from Alaska, and held the "Getting to Know a New Bear Dog - Hello! Sushana!" event to announce the move.

"Sushanna" is a one-year-old girl born in Alaska. From now on, she will learn to sniff out bears, follow their footprints, and bark on her handler's orders. She will undergo a lot of training to become a fully-fledged bear dog. Before she can start training, she must first become friendly with people. Meeting people of different ages and genders and getting used to them is also an important experience, so we planned this event to introduce Sushana and allow her to interact with people.

A total of 6 groups of people participated over the two days of June 19th and 20th. A wide range of people came to the event, including people who currently live in Karuizawa, people who have relocated there, people who own vacation homes, and people who supported us through crowdfunding. This once again demonstrated the understanding and support that many people have for Bear Dogs and our bear conservation and management activities in the everyday life of Karuizawa.

The event began with an introduction to Sushana and the essential role that bear dogs play in ensuring safe coexistence between people and bears in Karuizawa.

After that, it's time for everyone to take turns interacting with Sushana.
We received many kind words from people who heard about Sushana's personality and interacted with her, such as "We're rooting for you" and "It's hot, but don't push yourself too hard."

Although this was Sushana's first time interacting with so many people, she remained quiet and relaxed throughout, interacting harmoniously with everyone who attended.

(Left: Amelia, handler of the Picchio Bear Conservation and Management Team; Right: Nils from the Bear Dog Breeding Institution)

Bear Dog was given a place to work in Karuizawa to maintain an environment where humans and bears can coexist. We are grateful that she has been accepted as a precious friend thanks to everyone's warm understanding and support. Thank you very much to everyone who participated. We hope that you will continue to watch over and support Sushana as she grows.

It has been about three weeks since Sushana arrived in Japan, and she has adapted to her new environment. We will be holding an additional meet-and-greet on July 3rd, so that we can have another opportunity to meet everyone and talk about her future training. Please come along.