Bear rips pensioner's head off as he picks mushrooms in horror tragedy

The man's body was completely mauled (Image: Getty)

A mushroom forager has been found dead in a forest, his head horrifically torn off following a brutal bear attack.

The man, believed to be in his 70s, went missing last month after setting out to gather mushrooms in Iwate, Japan. A search operation was launched by authorities, only to discover his lifeless body bearing the telltale scratch marks of a bear attack.

In the wake of the gruesome incident, a local police officer from the northern region of Iwate said: "A man in his 70s who went missing after going into the woods to harvest mushrooms was found dead. We suspect he was attacked by a bear based on scratch marks."

TV Iwate, a regional broadcaster, reported the man's torso and head had been separated, further convincing authorities that a savage bear attack was to blame.

This tragic event comes amid a significant surge in bear attacks in Japan in recent years, heightening safety concerns for residents living near wooded areas, reports <a href="/news/world/2120097/horror-pensioner-head-ripped-by-bear" rel="Follow" target="_self">the Express</a>.

In recent years, bear attacks in Japan have increased exponentially (Image: Getty)

In another separate incident, a second man, also in his 70s, was discovered dead in a different part of Iwate on Wednesday. Meanwhile the body of a 78-year-old man bearing multiple claw marks was found in the central prefecture of Nagano.

According to Japan's environment ministry, between April and September this year, there were 103 reported cases across the country of individuals suffering injuries due to bear attacks.

In a bizarre turn of events, a distressed bear was seen wandering the aisles of a supermarket in Gunma, north of Tokyo, on Tuesday. The bear caused havoc, injuring two men and terrifying numerous shoppers.

Locals were shocked as, despite the store's proximity to mountainous regions, there had been no previous reports of bears venturing near it.

Last year, in another incident in Gunma prefecture on Honshu island, a black bear broke into an elderly couple's home while they slept, leaving them with serious facial and head injuries.

In Akita prefecture, also on Honshu, a 64-year-old man tragically lost his life while gathering bamboo shoots in May. When police attempted to retrieve his body, they were attacked by the bear and forced to retreat.

Bears, usually vegetarian and insect-eating creatures, have reportedly developed a taste for meat due to Japan's growing deer population.

Hunting used to control their numbers, but with fewer hunters now, those that remain often leave the carcasses in the mountains, providing an easy meal for the bears.

It is also thought that the heavy summer rainfall in 2023 followed by a drought affected the fruit harvest and insect population, which the bears rely on before hibernation. This food shortage is believed to be a potential factor behind the animals seeking nourishment elsewhere, including near human homes, where attacks have increased.

Yasushi Fujimoto, the leader of a hunting organisation, stated: "The mountain is turning into a restaurant for bears, because of the remains left on the mountain after hunting.

"The lack of professional hunters, like park rangers in Alaska financed by the government, is a problem when it comes to controlling the number of bears."