A family living in northern Japan called the police after coming face-to-face with a bear in their kitchen, a local official said today, as the country has seen a rise in the number of fatal attacks by these mammals.

On Monday night, the Iowate County Police received a call from a family reporting that they had seen a bear in their kitchen, which appeared to have rummaged through their refrigerator in search of food and had overturned a trash can.

“The bear opened the refrigerator, scattering its contents,” a local police official told AFP.

The paw prints found there also suggest that the bear then “left through a back door next to the kitchen and also rummaged through a trash can looking for food scraps,” the official added.

The incident occurred in the city of Shizukuishi, where at least three other homes have reported bear intrusions since July 5, he clarified.

Reports of bears have increased in recent months as the animals have emerged from hibernation, and more have been wandering into cities and urban areas.

In June, it took dozens of police officers, hunters, and municipal officials four days to capture a bear roaming in Utsunomiya, north of Tokyo, causing widespread school closures.

Previously, another bear—described as “extremely intelligent”— —had opened a window and a faucet, injured four people at two factories in Fukushima Prefecture, and roamed freely for several days.

Scientists estimate that the bear population has increased significantly in recent years, while the number of people living in rural areas has decreased.

The bears are thriving mainly thanks to an abundance of food—including acorns, deer, and wild boars—driven by climate warming, according to experts.

Source: News24|7