Bears have killed a record number of people in Japan this year, the environment ministry said on Thursday just as another possible victim was reported missing.

Bears hungry because of shortages of food such as acorns — which has been blamed on climate change — are encroaching more into towns where the human population is ageing and dwindling.

Experts say that warmer weather is also affecting the hibernation patterns of the animals, which in the case of brown bears can weigh half a tonne (1,100 pounds) and outrun a human.

The new total of seven deaths in the current fiscal year “is the largest toll since 2006, when statistics started”, an environment ministry official told AFP.

It surpassed the previous high of five human fatalities recorded in the 2023-24 fiscal year, the official told

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