Russian wildlife specialists are heading for an Arctic archipelago to try to resolve a situation that has both terrified and delighted the locals who have seen polar bears move into a p
By Associated Press Reporter
February 12 2019 9:13 PM
Russian wildlife specialists are heading for an Arctic archipelago to try to resolve a situation that has both terrified and delighted the locals who have seen polar bears move into a populated area.
It is not the first time that polar bears have come to Novaya Zemlya, but their numbers this time are striking.
More than 50 bears have been spotted in the archipelago’s main town of Belushya Guba.
Regional authorities in Russia declared a state of emergency over the weekend after the bears peered into homes, entered buildings and gorged at a rubbish dump outside the town.
Polar bears mostly live on sea ice, where they hunt seals as their main food.
What brought them to land may be a decline in the seal population or the shrinking amount of sea ice that diminishes as the Arctic warms.
Officials do not have an immediate solution.
Actions under consideration include relocating the dump that gives the bears a banquet and removing the bears.
The scientists coming from the national natural resources agency will be equipped to sedate the bears and haul them away.
