Japanese pensioners killed in foraging bear attacks

Four people foraging for edible wild plants or bamboo shoots have been killed in bear attacks in a small area of northern Japan in three weeks, police said.

They are warning people to take precautions.

The bodies of the three men and one woman had bites and scratches presumably made by “a large animal”, Kazuno Police Station spokesman Noboru Abukawa said. He said police heard roars of a bear or bears and saw bears from a helicopter while searching for the victims.