Chiko shows it’s good to be noisy.

Unfortunately, reports of human-bear encounters have been steadily on the rise as rural populations continue to decline and bears venture out further in search of food. Though sometimes such encounters are humorous and thankfully resolved without incident, bears are extremely dangerous animals and should be avoided at all costs.

Caution should especially be taken when out in or near wooded areas as a bear can emerge at any moment, much like one did for Yoshihara Togen, the head priest of Yokoku Temple in Gosen City, Niigata Prefecture. On 29 May, Togen and a beagle named Chiko took a walk along a mountain trail and crossed paths with a roughly 1.6-meter-tall bear.

As soon as Togen saw the animal it charged at him and tackled him by the legs. The fall and bear’s weight on top of Togen caused his shoulder to dislocate and damaged his ligaments. As you can see from the news report below, Togen is actually a pretty swole Buddhist priest, but the attack was so sudden and affected his limbs so badly that even a guy of his physical condition was utterly helpless to do anything.

In most cases, this would have been the end for anyone in Togen’s position, but Chiko stepped in, began barking loudly, and charged at the bear. This spooked the bear and made it retreat back into the woods. The one-year-old beagle then bravely chased the bear and disappeared among the trees.

Fearing the worst, Togen immediately got his car and went out in search of Chiko. However, only 30 minutes later he got a call from his wife saying Chiko had made it home safely and reportedly looked rather proud of himself.

As amazing as this story is, it’s about to get even more surreal, because Togen was actually fostering Chiko at the time of the incident. Chiko’s original family had given him up because his barking — the same barking that saved Togen’s life — was too loud. They returned Chiko to his breeder, who then entrusted him to the care of Yukoku Temple.

The possibility of divine intervention was not lost on readers of the news according to online comments, all of which unanimously agreed that Chiko was a very good boy.

“I cried reading that. He must have been scared but he tried his best.”
“There’s a god that casts things out and a god that picks them up.”
“Beagles are meant for hunting and can be really noisy. I’m glad he found a good home.”
“Those two came together under such bad circumstances but it felt like he was destined to be there.”
“That priest is ripped.”
“The priest must be pretty tough too, driving a car with a dislocated arm.”
“If a bear could take a guy like that so easily, I’d have no chance.”
“Beagles are sometimes called the ‘bells of the forest’ because their barking is so loud it resonates.”
“Don’t get on Chiko’s bad side.”
“Saved by barking… Chiko is the greatest hero!”

Yokoku Temple is said to date back to 1504 and has endured through the legends of many famous samurai and warlords. Now, a new chapter has been added to its history: The Legend of Gosen no Chiko-sama.

Source: TeNY TV Niigata, Yukoku Temple, Twitter/@livedoornews
Featured image: Pakutaso
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!