Communities in a remote Russian Arctic archipelago have been overrun by dozens of hungry polar bears, forced onshore by thinning sea ice and restricted access to food.
Communities in a remote Russian Arctic archipelago have been overrun by dozens of hungry polar bears, forced onshore by thinning sea ice and restricted access to food. At least 52 polar bears have been seen since December near Belusha Guba, the main settlement in the Novaya Zemlya island chain, with several bears entering buildings and homes.
“I have been in Novaya Zemlya since 1983, but there have never been so many polar bears in the vicinity,” Zhigansha Musin, a local official, told TASS, Russia’s state news agency.
Officials in Novaya Zemlya, located at 74 degrees North, declared a state of emergency on February 9. “People are scared,” the regional government said in a statement. “They are frightened to leave their homes and their daily routines are broken. Parents are afraid to let the children go to school or kindergarten.”
Read more at Yale Environment 360
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