A STARVING polar bear has wandered into an industrial city in Russia after “walking almost 1,000 miles in the wrong direction”. The lost beast headed south and inland from shore of the Arctic Ocean, far from its natural feeding habitat. Motorists in the nickel-processing city of Norilsk watched in amazement as the bear crossed busy […]
A STARVING polar bear has wandered into an industrial city in Russia after “walking almost 1,000 miles in the wrong direction”.
The lost beast headed south and inland from shore of the Arctic Ocean, far from its natural feeding habitat.
Motorists in the nickel-processing city of Norilsk watched in amazement as the bear crossed busy roads.
The bear is scavenging for food and appears too weak to attack people who are watching the wild animal – but local officials have warned of the threat to human life.
Locals say it is the first time a wild polar bear has been spotted here since the 1970s.
It is believed to have made a lonely trek of at least 950 miles crossing Arctic islands and frozen sea to reach Norilsk, according to reports.
He is seriously hunger-bitten, he is hardly able to blink and keep his eyes open, almost unable to walk
Irina Yarinskaya
Irina Yarinskaya, photographer for Zapolyarnaya Pravda newspaper, snapped the bear dodging cars in the city’s traffic.
She said: “He is seriously hunger-bitten, he is hardly able to blink and keep his eyes open, almost unable to walk.
“He was lying for a long time, having a rest, then he crossed the road and entered the industrial zone.
“He went towards the gravel and sand factory.
“Then he crossed one more road and headed to a dump.”
Earlier, the same bear was spotted at Talnakh on the outskirts of Norilsk.
The animal has become a star attraction in a barren area normally populated by brown bears, reported The Siberian Times.
The bear had the “wrong compass settings”, and walked across the Taymyr Peninsula to reach the Soviet-era nickel city which is normally closed to foreign visitors.
Local police and emergency services are closely monitoring the bear – which poses a threat to residents.
But they are awaiting a decision from Moscow on whether to sedate the beast and return it to the Arctic shoreline – or move it to a zoo in Krasnoyarsk, the regional capital, another 950 miles further south.
Initially the local emergency services refused to believe there was a polar bear in the Talnakh district of the Arctic city which is some 350 miles inland.
There are two options now – either to relocate him to the shore, or, perhaps, some zoo will take him
Anatoly Nikolaychyuk
Anatoly Nikolaychyuk, head of Taymyr department of state hunting control, said: “This is a unique and rare case.
“There are two options now – either to relocate him to the shore, or, perhaps, some zoo will take him.”
Local campaigners are demanding the bear is returned to its natural habitat.
Oleg Krashevsky – who specialises in tours to the remote Putorana Plateau – posted: “I don’t understand how the bear could have walked such distance, across Taymyr and not come across anyone.
“He must have encountered many hunters.
“The same thing happened in 1970s when a polar bear showed up at an explosives warehouse around the same place as this time.”
Polar bears are an endangered species in Russia’s Red Book.
The bear’s mammoth journey is believed to have started on islands deep in the Arctic either in Krasnoyarsk or Yakutia regions.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.
