More than 50 polar bears have descended on a village in Russia, prompting residents to cancel public events and start patrols in the area.
The hungry animals wandered near Ryrkaypiy, a small village located in Russia’s Far East region, to look for walrus carcasses, according to a statement from WWF Russia. On Dec. 5, members of the village’s polar bear patrol counted 56 bears in the area, Gizmodo reported.
“Almost all the bears are thin,” said Tatyana Minenko, the head of Bear Patrol on Ryrkaypiy. “There are both adult and young animals, including cubs of different ages with their moms.”
Minenko and Maksim Dyominov, another patrol member, watch the village area throughout the day near the nursery and school to prevent encounters with the polar bears. Volunteers are also helping the pair monitor the area and control guests arriving from the cape.
It’s not unusual for polar bears to visit Ryrkaypiy, but WWF said a big invasion like this is unusual. According to WWF, there has been a decline of the sea ice area due to climate change. Without ice cover, the animals are forced to go ashore and look for food.
“If there is enough ice, the bears would go further north to hunt the seals. Until the ice is not thick enough, they will stay ashore and can visit the village due to curiosity and hunger. Spontaneous waste deposits can attract the animals: bears will go for the smell of food waste, regardless of the availability of other food,” said Mikhail Stishov of WWF Russia. “Gathering of polar bears are becoming more frequent, and we have to adapt and find ways to avoid conflicts between people and animals.”
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