Alarm in an archipelago of the Russian Arctic by a polar bear invasion

"I have been living in Nueva Zembla since 1983 and I have never witnessed such a mbadive invasion of polar bears," said Jigancha Mousin, chief of the archipelago administration, in a statement.

About 52 polar bears frequently walk in Beluchia Guba, the largest city of this archipelago where there is a Russian military base. In some cases, animals have an "aggressive behavior," says Alexander Minaiev, the deputy chief of administration in the statement.

"They attack people and enter housing and service buildings (…) Between six and ten bears are permanently on the territory of the population," he says.

According to Minaiev, "people are afraid to leave the house (…) parents are afraid to let their children go alone to school".

Polar bears have been affected by global warming and melting of the Arctic, forcing them to spend more time off the ice looking for food.

In Russia, they are clbadified as endangered species and it is forbidden to hunt them.

At present, authorities are trying to expel polar bears with patrol vehicles and dogs. "But these measures do not have the desired effect," the statement said.