Officials Suspect Bear Attack After Fisherman's Head Found Near Japanese Lake

A bear attack is suspected in the case of a missing fisherman after a human head was found near a lake in Japan.

Toshihiro Nishikawa, 54, was dropped off on Lake Shumarinai in Hokkaido on Sunday, according to the Kyodo news agency. However, a short time later, a nearby boater reported seeing a large brown bear with fishing waders hanging out of his mouth.

Attempts to warn Nishikawa via telephone reportedly went unanswered. Local officials formed a search/hunt party that killed a bear and uncovered a human head. Police have yet to determine if the head is Nishikawa’s.

According to Kevin Short, a professor at Tokyo University, a lack of hunting has likely resulted in a spike in human-bear confrontations in the Hokkaido area.

“Perhaps the main one is that the bear population of Hokkaido has recovered after years of over-hunting and as there are simply fewer hunters now,” Short told the South China Morning Post.

“The deer population has also recovered, which is a key food source, while there have also been efforts across the prefecture to restore natural habitats in woodlands and along rivers, all of which increases the bears’ range.”

Short added, “Part of the problem is that in the past, the people who lived in these areas knew how to take precautions against suddenly coming up against a bear and what to do if they were unlucky,” Short said. “People who come to Hokkaido for the outdoor activities today are not very bear-savvy and that is getting them into trouble.”