{"id":239839,"date":"2025-10-21T00:48:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T00:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/239839\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T00:48:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T00:48:07","slug":"runner-fends-off-a-bear-while-training-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/239839\/","title":{"rendered":"Runner fends off a bear while training in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Billy Halloran set out on a training run in the forest surrounding Myoko, a mountain town in central Japan, one morning in early October, he was expecting little more than a quiet workout among the trees. That changed when he noticed movement in the undergrowth\u2014two Asiatic black bears staring back at him from less than 30 metres away. Bear encounters in Japan have surged this year, with more than a hundred people injured and at least seven killed, the highest toll since tracking began in 2006, as reported by CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"AsiaticAsiatic bear warning sign in Japan.<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old, originally from Auckland, N.Z., tried to retreat slowly, but one bear advanced. It was roughly his size, he later recalled. Halloran shouted, hoping to scare it off, but the animal lunged. It bit into his arm, knocked him to the ground and tore into his leg before finally backing away.<\/p>\n

Survival and recovery<\/p>\n

Badly wounded, Halloran managed to stand and call his wife. Fearing the bear might return, he ran nearly a kilometre to meet her before being taken to the hospital. Surgeons have since repaired his arm with metal plates and used a hip graft to replace bone lost in the attack. He\u2019s now beginning a long recovery and months of rehabilitation. \u201cI still want to get back to running,\u201d he said from his hospital bed, \u201cbut I know it\u2019ll take time.\u201d<\/p>\n

A broader crisis<\/p>\n

Japan has been grappling with a spike in bear encounters<\/a> as the animals wander farther from their mountain habitats in search of food. Experts blame climate change and reduced acorn production for driving them closer to populated areas. In recent months, bears have been sighted in supermarkets and near schools, prompting the government to announce stronger control measures. Last week, in Numata, Gunma, two men were attacked when a bear walked into a supermarket, reported New Zealand media outlet Star News<\/a>, and at a bus stop in Shirakawa-go, a bear swiped at a Spanish tourist.<\/p>\n

Grizzly bear disrupts Alberta\u2019s Divide 200 ultra-trail race<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Halloran\u2019s new outlook<\/p>\n

Halloran says he\u2019s grateful to have survived and plans to return to the trails when he\u2019s ready, this time with more caution. He may carry bear spray, and he\u2019s counting on winter snowboarding to help him regain confidence outdoors. \u201cNature\u2019s still where I want to be,\u201d he said. \u201cI just have a bit more respect for it now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Billy Halloran set out on a training run in the forest surrounding Myoko, a mountain town in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239840,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[85533,132352,132353,79,201,3756,132354],"class_list":{"0":"post-239839","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-bear-attacks","9":"tag-runners-facing-bear-attacks","10":"tag-runners-in-japan","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-wildlife","13":"tag-wildlife-encounters","14":"tag-wildlife-safety"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}