Research indicates a detectable increase in several wild animal species, including boars, deer and bears, in certain parts of Asia. A plausible answer for this lies rooted in human demography and is particularly visible in rural areas where the population has decreased. As a direct consequence, there now appears to be a correlation between a sharp decline in numbers of human inhabitants and the rise in the size of wild animal populations. With the human population dwindling steadily in rural areas, more animal sightings are being reported. Whereas in the past both brown and black bears have been elusive and difficult to spot, the number of bear sightings in countries such as Japan, amongst others, have witnessed a marked increase with approximately 13,000 sightings in 2018. Most of the actual witnesses who have reported bear activities tend to be tourists with local residents offering fewer accounts of bear sightings. However, it remains clear that any sudden increases in sightings usually occur in places where the human population is falling fastest. A bear’s natural instinct is to avoid human contact, so these sightings are consistent with the animal’s behaviour. If the unintentional trend of wild animals interacting more closely with humans looks set to continue, then both species may need to discover ways to co-exist.