SHOCKING DISCOVERY

Elderly Mushroom Hunter Decapitated in Suspected Bear Attack

This marks the third suspected attack in the last week.

An apparent bear attack in Japan’s Iwate Prefecture left an elderly man dead Friday morning in what may be the third attack of its kind. Police said on Friday that the man, in his 70s, entered the woods to forage for mushrooms. His body was later found with the head and torso separated in a manner consistent with a bear attack. This marks the third time in the last week that an elderly man has been found dead in a similar manner amid a string of recent bear attacks in Japan. Another man in his 70s was found dead in the Iwate region on Wednesday, while a 78-year-old man was found in Nagano, Japan, on October 4. While police have yet to confirm a cause of death for any of the three victims, all were found with claw marks consistent with bear attacks. If confirmed, the three deaths would set a new record for annual deadly bear attacks in Japan, which has already recorded six since April. In addition to the most recent deaths, a bear cub injured a Spanish tourist in the village of Shirakawa-go on Monday, while on Wednesday, another bear injured two senior citizens at a supermarket in Numata, near Tokyo. In response to a rise in attacks last year, the Japanese government relaxed its wildlife protection policy, allowing authorized hunters to conduct “emergency shootings” when the animals are spotted. Wildlife experts believe bears have begun entering populated areas in search of food because of an acorn scarcity in forests across the country.