Bears Still Starving in Russian Far East

by | Nov 13, 2015 | SAFARI & INTERNATIONAL

Bears Still Starving in Russian Far East

 

It’s been seven years since the unbelievable invasion of a Kamchatka mining area by 30 brown bears, but the animals are still so ravenous they are turning to humans as a food source. Experts are calling for more hunting license sales at cheaper rates after ten people were injured in 2015, the Russian news agency TASS reported Thursday.

International wildlife experts made the recommendation after analyzing the threat posed by the bears on residents of a large area in the Russian Far East. Bears have taken to wandering the streets of various villages, eating any refuse they can find and scaring the locals. Ten people have been hurt, with one dying, as a result of bear attacks in 2015; the latest attack left two boys, 8 and 12, in the hospital. As the brutal Russian winter sets in, that number will likely rise as bears find it increasingly difficult to acquire calories. 

In 2008 the cause of bear attacks at a platinum mine on the Kamchatka peninsula was believed to be the enormous amount of illegally taken fish from nearby waterways. Some 100,000 tons of fish were reportedly poached, leaving that year’s estimated 12,000 bears with empty bellies — and weak, two-legged neighbors for the taking. The situation was a recipe for disaster: 30 brown bears surrounded two villages near the mine and ate two security guards, causing the remaining 400 or so workers to be too afraid to leave their homes.
 
Fast foward to 2015 when Typhoon Goni struck the Pacific in August. The storm hit the Mariana and Phillipine Islands, then shot north between Japan and China to dump its remaining strength into Russia. Areas in the Russian Far East received two months of rainfall in the single event, with 88,300 hectares of crops damaged or destroyed.
 
The storm, compiled with the ongoing problem of finding food in the frigid region, led to numerous bear sitings near settlements. In one instance, kindergartens were prohibited from walking in Kirovsky to avoid being hurt by a sow with cubs.
 
Mikhail Krechmar of the International Association for Bear Research and Management told TASS bears would never have a steady supply of food in the area because of its brutal conditions. Cold coastal currents mixed with humidity and extremely cold winters all but guarantee the bears will continue to eat anything, or anyone, opportunity allows. 
 
To curb the continued risk of bear attacks on Russians, Krechmar said the hunting license fees for brown bears should be made cheaper and the quota raised to 12 percent. Currently there are an estimated 5,500 bears in the Far East; the annual hunting quota is 279, slightly above five percent of the population. The increase to 12 percent would remove an additional 381 — 660 bears in total.

Only 84 licenses have been sold in 2015, leading the bear expert to suggest the changes. For some, any changes now will still be too late.

 

 

 

Cover Image: Thinkstock