A man is believed to have been mauled to death by a bear in a rare attack near Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, police said today.

The 67-year-old farmer was believed to have been attacked and killed in thick jungle near the foothills of Kinabalu, Southeast Asia's highest mountain and a major tourist attraction in Sabah.

District police chief Kho Siew Cheng said there were signs of a struggle at the scene and the victim's body was dragged for more than three metres.

"Our initial assessment, based on the numerous scratch marks of a bear on his body, his clothes, and on the nearby trees, we believe he was attacked by a bear," Kho told AFP.

"We suspect the bear was injured. Normally they don't attack humans," said Kho, adding that this thought to be the first such attack in the area.

Mount Kinabalu, which rises to 4,101 metres, is in Kinabalu National Park, 138 kilometres from Kota Kinabalu.