Man's head ripped off by bear while foraging found with horror 'scratch marks' on body

A man was discovered with his head ripped off in the forest after they were attacked by a bear in a shock incident while picking mushrooms.

Fujiwara Yoyoshi, 71, an pensioner from Nishine, Shizukuishi Town, had vanished on Wednesday after leaving home to forage for mushrooms in Iwate prefecture, Japan, local police said. When he was found, Japanese outlet IBC reported, his head and torso had been separated, and police concluded he had been attacked by a bear.

An officer confirmed in a statement that "scratch marks" were found on the man's body which led them to draw the conclusion he was ambushed by the predator.

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They 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." The unnamed man was discovered after local authorities launched a major search operation.

Bears have become an increasing menace in Japan, especially in Iwate, where police earlier today announced they had captured and killed an adult bear that was invading sheds and warehouses in Kitakami City.

City authorities said they had captured the adult bear in a trap in Iwasaki, Waga-cho, at around 8am, after buildings were invaded a total of 12 times by bears. The animals were able to break sliding doors and windows and had ripped open bags of rice, but no one was harmed.

In another previous incident on October 8, a body believed to have been badly damaged by a bear was recovered from a mountain in Waga-cho, Kitakami City.

After the horror decapitation attack, local police said from the forest that the incident was the latest of a series launched by a bear close to where people live.

An officer said: "This is the forest where a man is believed to have been attacked by a bear. There is irrigation water flowing through it, and the bamboo grass is growing high.

"Once again, a bear attack has occurred close to where people live." The bear believed to have been responsible for the attack was believed to have been caught later in a trap, but police are not certain as to whether it was involved.

Locals have been left shocked by the incident, with one telling IBC that, while he expected the bears "might come out eventually" he never expected an attack. He said: "There are farms and other areas where people are doing their business, so I thought they might come out eventually, but I never thought someone would be attacked."