Japanese police are investigating a suspected fatal bear attack in northern Aomori prefecture, as authorities find bear bite marks on the body of a man found dead on a mountain. The local official told AFP that “police are still investigating the cause” but confirmed the presence of bear bite marks.
Fatal maulings have surged fivefold compared to last year, with five people dying from bear attacks since April, according to government data. This year is the first to see more than two deaths in the period from April to June, breaking a record set in 2019 when 13 people were killed by bears.
Bear sightings nationwide topped 50,000 this year, over double the previous record set in 2020. Experts attribute the rise in bear attacks and encounters to an abundance of food due to warming climate and declining human populations in rural areas.