An ultra marathon runner savagely attacked by a bear in the woods has spoken out about how he survived his terrifying near-death experience.
Billy Halloran has had metal plates inserted in his arm after it was bitten by a powerful black bear, lost a chunk of bone in his hip and had three surgeries following the assault earlier this month.
The 32-year-old was 4k into an 8k run when he he came face-to-face with two Asiatic black bears in woods near the city of Myoko, Japan, where he lives.
Mr Halloran, originally from Auckland, New Zealand, realised the danger he was in and started backing away but one of the bears started moving towards him.
“It was around my size, it was an adult, it was at least 60 or 70 kilos ,” he told CNN. “I could see it was going to lunge at me – and it did. It grabbed my arm and I got pushed to the ground. Then in one bite, my arm was done.”
The bear also clawed his leg before retreating into the woods.
“It’s hard to think back on that moment,” Mr Halloran told Radio New Zealand. “I was screaming a lot, in fight or flight, thinking, ‘well, this is either gonna go really, really bad, like it’s gonna let go and run away, or it’s just gonna keep going.’
His leg was bleeding and his arm was “fully snapped”, hanging at an unnatural angle and held together only by his rain jacket, according to the outlet.
In spite of the pain, Mr Halloran ran nearly a kilometre to meet his wife and wait for an ambulance.
While the runner has a lot of physical rehabilitation to come, he said he hopes to train for more ultramarathon races in future, despite his ordeal.
Japan has seen a surge in bear attacks this year that have left over 100 people injured and at least seven killed, the highest figures since record-keeping began in 2006.
Last week, a black bear wandered into a supermarket in Gunma prefecture’s Numata city and attacked two men, while another swiped at a Spanish tourist waiting at a bus stop in Shirakawa-go in Gifu prefecture.
Experts say bear attacks usually rise in autumn before hibernation, but climate change and a shortage of their usual beech nut food may be pushing them into towns.
According to The Japan Times, a woman in her 70s was killed earlier this month by a bear while foraging for mushrooms in a forest in Miyagi prefecture. Another woman who was with her remains missing and police continue to search for her.
A bear was found prowling the parking lot and lodging areas of Fukushima prefecture’s Iizaka hot springs resort for 10 hours earlier last week, bringing business to a standstill, before disappearing. Although no injuries were reported, residents were told not to go out unless necessary.
Authorities have announced tougher measures to curb the bear population, while residents have started taking precautions, including carrying bells or blasting loud music.
“There’s been a lot of attacks,” Mr Halloran said, “and some people haven’t been so lucky. I’m feeling pretty grateful and pretty lucky to have gotten away from the situation, especially given the number of instances where people haven’t.”
