Mushroom picker in his 70s found dead with ‘head separated from body’ after bear attack

A close of the Asian black bear
A man in his 70s picking mushrooms in the woods was found dead after a horrific bear attack (Picture: Getty Images)

A mushroom picker in his 70s was found dead with his head and torso ripped away after a bear attack.

The elderly man in his 70s went missing after going into the woods of Iwate in Japan to harvest mushrooms.

Local authorities confirmed the man was dead after finding his body covered in scratch marks.

Police officers suspect the scratch marks were the result of a bear attack.

‘A man in his 70s who went missing after going into the woods to harvest mushrooms was found dead,’ a local police officer said on Friday.

‘We suspect he was attacked by a bear based on scratch marks.’

HIDA, JAPAN - OCTOBER 07: A warning sign is seen at the closed walking trail to the observatory in the Shirakawago district, a UNESCO World Heritage site, on October 7, 2025 in Hida, Gifu Prefecture of Japan. A Spanish tourist was injured after being attacked by a wild bear in the historical area of Shirakawago here, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its traditional steep-roofed farmhouses. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
Warning signs of bears in the area placed across rural parts of Japan (Picture: Visual China Group)

The suspected bear attack forms the latest in a string of incidents across Japan.

Bear attacks appear to be on the rise in the country after there were three incidents in the last week alone.

Police said another person was attacked by a bear after finding a dead body in a different part of Iwate on Wednesday.

The man’s head and torso were separated in the attack, according to local broadcaster TV Iwate.

On Tuesday, two men were injured after a bear walked into a supermarket in Gunma, north of Tokyo.

CCTV footage showed the moment the bear was seen roaming the aisle, causing frightened shoppers to flee the premises.

CCTV footage of a large bear roaming a supermarket in Japan
CCTV footage showed the moment a bear roamed the aisles of a supermarket in Gunma, Japan, as the country has seen a rise in bear attacks in recent years (Picture: AFP)

A Spanish tourist was attacked by a bear on Sunday at a bus stop in the scenic village of Shirakawa-go in central Japan.

The death toll from bear attacks rose to six in April this year, matching a record high seen in 2023, the environment ministry has said.

The increased bear attacks, as more wild bears roam residential areas of Japan, could be a result of a declining human population and climate change.

Among those fatal attacks was a woman in her 70s who died last week while picking mushrooms in northern Miyagi with her three friends, one of whom is missing.

Across Japan, 103 people suffered injuries caused by bears between April and September, according to the environment ministry.

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