Hiker found dead after brown bear attack on trail in northern Japan, officials say
The man in his 20s was hiking at Mount Rausu, on the northern island of Hokkaido, on Thursday morning when he was attacked, a local police spokesman told news wires agency AFP.
Japanese media outlets, including the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, reported that the hiker tried to fight off the bear but was pulled into the nearby woods.
He was found on Friday afternoon, local time, and taken to a hospital where he was officially pronounced dead, a Hokkaido government official said.
Hunters also caught and killed a bear near the trail, an official working for Shari, a town near the mountain, told AFP.
DNA analysis will be conducted to determine whether it was the same bear that attacked the hiker.
A wallet containing a card that bore the man's name was found near the scene of the encounter in the north-eastern part of Hokkaido, according to local media.
A torn, bloodied shirt believed to be his was also found Friday, with nearby trees and soil dotted with traces of blood, Japanese news agency Kyodo said, quoting police.
Among other discovered items were a watch, a hat, and what appeared to be tear gas, Kyodo said.
The number of brown bears in Hokkaido fell year-on-year in 2023 for the first time since 1991, according to estimates released this month.
There were about 11,600 at the end of 2023, down 500 from a year earlier.
The Hokkaido government attributed the fall to unprecedented hunting of brown bears, which has led to a record 1,804 caught in the 12 months to March 2024.
AFP/ABC
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