Remember that case in Sweden where a woman’s death first pointed to her husband—until a coroner traced the wounds back to a moose? Now flip it. In Japan, a body found in bear country looked like yet another mauling—but investigators now say the victim, Fujiyoshi Shindo, was killed by his own son. It’s a gut-punch twist in a year already defined by wildlife fear: in the 12 months to March 2024, 219 people were attacked by bears in Japan and six died. In July, a newspaper deliveryman was killed by a brown bear in a residential area. Authorities loosened hunting rules, and thousands of bears have since been trapped and killed. So here’s the uncomfortable question: when panic sets the narrative, do facts get trampled—and do animals take the fall? This case doesn’t erase real danger, but it does spotlight how easily a plausible story hardens into policy. Forensics over folklore. Evidence before escalation. If we’re going to protect people and ecosystems, we have to get the cause right the first time. Otherwise, we’re hunting the wrong monster—and letting the real one walk away.