A few years back, I recall a disturbing episode of international tourists stopping on a major Hokkaido highway roadway bridge in winter to photograph a Hokkaido red fox depending on handouts, and on both sides of the bridge were guardrails that their Hokkaido photo tour leader foolishly ignored!  This was a sad day as two semi-trucks came barreling down the road from opposite directions, and there was not enough clearance for the two semi-trucks to pass the parked vehicles with tourists photographing outside on the bridge and inside the vehicles; as a result, the trucks crashed into the parked vehicles on the bridge, and several tourists were crushed, just to take a snapshot of a product of our society “a once wild animal now dependent on human handouts.”
Three years ago, I was incensed because a new driver on my annual Hokkaido Tour did what a one-time co-leader asked of him, an American based out of Indianapolis, to stop between two guard rails on a major Hokkaido roadway so they could capture images of an Ezo Red Fox. A minute beforehand, I had spotted the fox, but I kept on going, as it was not safe to stop, and I could tell this fox was only looking for handouts. When I looked in my rearview mirror, Images of the prior disaster ran through my head, so I quickly turned my SUV around and stopped just before the guard rails.  I jumped out quickly, dashed over to them, and told everyone to either walk 10 meters down the road to a safe location or get in the SUV.  Now!  I ordered my new driver to move as quickly as possible, giving them no time to think or reply. It was a moment of pure instinct and survival for everyone.  To make sure the Ezo Red Fox wouldn’t stick around for photos, I quickly put together a snowball and hurled it at the fox so it would move on, but it was so dependent on human handouts that it hardly stirred; however, I made sure no one offered it any handouts.  After everyone moved down the road to a safe location, I gave my clients a couple of minutes to take their photos.   At our next scheduled stop in Lake Kussharo, I recounted everything to my co-leader, my support group team members, and clients about what had happened in a very similar situation “as mentioned above,” and believe me, there were no more unexpected stops on any major roadways to capture photos of any of Hokkaido’s wildlife or landscapes after this incident unless I deemed it safe.