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.’ 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 p

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