Man Torn to Death by Brown Bear While Walking in Russian Far East Forest

JAKARTA - A brown bear has torn apart a 41-year-old man who was walking through the woods in Russia's Far East, state news agency RIA reported on Monday.

The animal was killed, RIA reported, citing the head of the hunting department of the Magadan region, which is located nearly 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) east of Moscow.

"A human body with signs of an attack by a wild animal was found on a forest road," Elena Slobodanyuk, the head of the hunting department, was quoted as saying by RIA, as saying by Reuters on August 5.

"During the examination of the person, signs were found that a brown bear attacked the man," she said.

She said the man was returning from a fishing trip when his car broke down and he decided to walk through the woods at night.

The population of brown bears has been increasing in the region, Slobodanyuk said, adding that the bears had killed three people last year.

Since the start of spring, which is marked in Russia in early March, forest rangers have killed more than 100 bears in the Magadan region, RIA reported.