People in northern Japan have been warned to stay away from mountain forests after four people were killed in a spate of bear attacks, amid a dramatic rise in the number of bear sightings.

日本北部的居民被警告，远离山区森林，目前目击到的熊的数目急剧上升，已有四人在接二连三的熊袭击事件中丧命。

Police in Akita prefecture found the body of a woman they suspect was mauled by a bear in a mountain forest at the weekend.

秋田县警方于周末发现一具女人的尸体，怀疑因受到山林中的熊身重创所致。

The victim, Tsuwa Suzuki, 74, suffered injuries so horrific that local authorities were initially unable to identify her.

受害者铃木年龄74岁，身上恐怖的伤痕以至于地方当局最初无法确定她的身份。

Suzuki, who lived in neighbouring Aomori prefecture, had gone to the area alone to pick edible wild plants, according to public broadcaster NHK.

据公共电台NHK报道，铃木住在青森县附近，曾独自一人去摘野生植物。

Her death comes soon after three men – two in their seventies and one in his sixties – died from what have been described as “severe” injuries sustained in separate attacks in the same area.

她的死亡紧接着三个人——其中两人都是70多岁，一人60多岁——都在同一个地区受到来自不同袭击的所谓的“严重”伤害。

The men were foraging for bamboo shoots when they were attacked, Japanese media reported.

这些男子是在采摘竹笋的时候被袭击的，日本媒体报道。

Takeshi Komatsu, a local vet, said it was possible that the four were killed by the same bear.

当地兽医武小松说，这四人很可能遭到同一头熊的袭击。

“After tasting human flesh (for the first time), the bear may have realised that it can eat them,” Komatsu told Kyodo news agency.

“(第一次)尝了人肉之后，熊可能意识到人可以吃，”武小松告诉新闻通讯社共同社。

While officials have set traps and told people not to go into the mountains in search of plants and vegetables, local media pointed out that the number of fatal attacks in Akita this year is already half the eight deaths reported in the area between 1979 and last year.

官员已经设置了陷阱，并告诉人们不要进入山林寻找植物或野菜，当地媒体称秋田县今年的致命袭击已经是这个地区从1979年至去年间的八起被报道的死亡事件的一半。

Sightings of brown bears and black Asiatic bears in northern Japan have risen to over 1,200 already this year, almost twice the number reported last year.

在日本北部目击到的棕熊和亚洲黑熊的数目今年已经上升至1200头，几乎是去年报道的两倍。

In some cases, the animals have been spotted near residential areas.

一些报道中，这些动物被目击到出现在居民区附近。

Aside from Akita, there have been sightings of mother with their cubs in several other prefectures, as well as reports of injuries due to bear attacks.

除了秋田县，也有人目击到母熊带着小熊出现在其他几个县，同时也有遭熊袭击受伤的报道。