Hiker found dead after bear attack in Japanese forest
TOKYO : A hiker attacked by a wild brown bear was found dead in northern Japan today, officials said, a day after the bloody encounter that reportedly saw him dragged into a forest.
The hiker in his 20s tried to fight off the large animal but was pulled into the nearby woods with his legs bleeding profusely, local media outlets including the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said.
The man was attacked while walking a trail on Mount Rausu on the northern island of Hokkaido yesterday morning, a local police spokesman told AFP.
This afternoon, he was found and taken to a hospital where he was officially pronounced dead, according to a Hokkaido government official.
Hunters also caught and killed a bear near the trail, an official working for Shari town – where the mountain is – told AFP.
DNA analysis will be conducted to determine whether the bear was responsible for the victim's death.
A wallet containing a card that bore the man's name was found near the scene of the encounter in the northeastern part of Hokkaido, according to media.
A torn, bloodied shirt believed to be his was also found today, with nearby trees and soil dotted with traces of blood, Kyodo news agency 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 cited unprecedented hunting of brown bears, with a record 1,804 caught in the 12 months to March 2024.
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