A record 13 people have died in bear attacks in Japan this year – with experts blaming food shortages as the animals venture further into residential areas
Loud conversations, whistles and, when all else fails, a plastic bottle are among the precautions authorities in Japan are urging people to take to counter a surge in bear attacks.
It was a bell that Billy Halloran had to hand during a confrontation in the foothills of Myoko, northern Japan, last month. The 32-year-old New Zealander was settling into an 8km run when he spotted two Asiatic black bears about 30 metres ahead.
“I was quite startled, and was like ‘crap’ I’ll turn around,” Halloran says. “One of the bears made a bit of an approach towards me … I made myself pretty big and loud and tall, and the bear was quite aggressive, making noise.”
Sensing that the bear was about to charge, and with the sound of the bell drowned out by a nearby roaring river, Halloran raised his right arm to shield his head.
