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<\/p>\nA hiker attacked by a brown bear while walking a trail in northern Japan has been found dead, according to officials.<\/p>\n
The man in his 20s was hiking at Mount Rausu, on the northern island of Hokkaido, on Thursday morning when he was attacked, a local police spokesman told news wires agency AFP.<\/p>\n
Japanese media outlets, including the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, reported that the hiker tried to fight off the bear but was pulled into the nearby woods.<\/p>\n
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Brown bear numbers have fallen recently in Hokkaido due to unprecedented levels of hunting, officials say. (AFP: Ryoichiro Kida \/ The Yomiuri Shimbun)<\/p>\n
He was found on Friday afternoon, local time, and taken to a hospital where he was officially pronounced dead, a Hokkaido government official said.<\/p>\n
Hunters also caught and killed a bear near the trail, an official working for Shari, a town near the mountain, told AFP.<\/p>\n
DNA analysis will be conducted to determine whether it was the same bear that attacked the hiker.<\/p>\n
Items found near attack scene, reports say<\/p>\n
A wallet containing a card that bore the man’s name was found near the scene of the encounter in the north-eastern part of Hokkaido, according to local media.<\/p>\n
A torn, bloodied shirt believed to be his was also found Friday, with nearby trees and soil dotted with traces of blood, Japanese news agency Kyodo said, quoting police.<\/p>\n