Bear attacks are usually blamed on food shortages that send the animals straying out of their habitats into towns and villages. People in northern Japan have been warned to stay away from mountain forests after four people were killed in a spate of bear attacks, amid a dramatic rise in the number of bear sightings. Aside from Akita, there have been sightings of mother with their cubs in several other prefectures, as well as reports of injuries due to bear attacks. Sightings of brown bears and black Asiatic bears in northern Japan have risen to over 1,200 already this year, almost twice the number reported last year. Takeshi Komatsu, a local vet, said it was possible that the four were killed by the same bear.

Source: The Guardian June 13, 2016 04:18 UTC