Four people killed in series of bear attacks in Japan

Four people were killed in a series of bear attacks in the north of Japan, leading authorities to warn the public to stay away from the area, amid rise in sightings of the animal.

According to reports, police in Akita prefecture found the body of a woman they suspect was mauled by a bear in a mountain forest at the weekend. The victim, Tsuwa Suzuki, 74, suffered injuries so horrific that local authorities were initially unable to identify her. Public broadcaster NHK reports that Suzuki lived in neighbouring Aomori prefecture and had gone to the area alone to pick edible wild plants.

Earlier this month, three men – two in their seventies and one in his sixties – died from what have been described as “severe” injuries sustained in separate attacks in the same area, while they were foraging for bamboo shoots.

Takeshi Komatsu, a local vet, said it was possible that the four were killed by the same bear, given that the animal does not typically seek out human flesh to feed on.

Meanwhile, officials have set traps throughout the area and warned people to stay away from the mountains, as the number of fatal attacks is reportedly half the eight deaths reported in the area between 1979 and last year.

The Guardian reports that sightings of brown bears and black Asiatic bears in northern Japan have risen to over 1,200 already this year, almost twice the number reported last year and in some cases, the animals have been spotted near residential areas. Aside from Akita, there have been sightings of mother with their cubs in several other prefectures, as well as reports of injuries due to bear attacks.