State of emergency on some Russian islands due to a "invasion" of polar bears

The Russian islands of Novaya Zemlya declared the state of emergency for the "unexpected invasion" of dozens of polar bears. These animals, considered endangered, are approaching territories inhabited by people fleeing the effects of global warming.

Polar bears are forced to forage for land as sea ice decreases.

A remote Russian region has declared a state of emergency due to the appearance of dozens of polar bears in their settlements, local officials said.

Authorities in the Novaya Zemlya Islands, home to a few thousand people, reported that some of these animals had even attacked people and entered residential and public buildings.

Polar bears, one of the species most affected by climate change, are increasingly forced to reach the continent in search of food.

Russia

clbadifies them as an endangered species. In fact, their hunting is prohibited and the Federal Environment Agency has refused to issue permits to shoot them.

However, bears have lost their fear of police patrols and the various signals used to scare them away.

For this reason, officials warn that they may be forced to take drastic measures. They say that if all the means to frighten the bears fail, the only alternative will be to sacrifice them.

"Mbadive Invasion"

The main agglomeration of the archipelago, Belushya Guba, reported a total of 52 bears in its vicinity. Between six and ten of them remain constantly on the territory.

The head of the local government, Vigansha Musin, said that more than five bears were on the territory of the local military garrison, where the air defense and air defense forces are based. "I have been in Novaya Zemlya since 1983," Musin said in an official press release. "There has never been a mbadive invasion of polar bears."

The authorities of Novaya Zemlya say that if they do not control the situation, they will have to sacrifice the animals, considered a species in danger of disappearing. The deputy chief added that this threat interrupted the life of the population.

"People are afraid to go out of their homes, their daily routine has been changed and parents are unwilling to let their children go to school or kindergarten," said Alexander Minayev, head of local government .

With the Arctic sea ice shrinking as a result of climate change, polar bears are forced to change their hunting habits and spend more time on the land in search of food, which puts them in conflict with each other. with humans.

In 2016, five Russian scientists were besieged by polar bears for several weeks at a remote weather station on the island of Troynoy, east of Novaya Zemlya.