The key facts

  • In winter, rogue bears are likely in Altai Krai, the Altai Republic, Novosibirsk, Tomsk and Irkutsk regions, and Krasnoyarsk Krai.
  • In harvested animals, fat thickness in places is less than 1 cm — a sign of the risk of not going into hibernation.
  • There is no exact count of rogue bears; in Novokuznetsk residents were warned to be cautious.

Forecast on rogue bears

In winter, Siberia should expect a mass appearance of rogue bears, Associate Professor of the Department of Biology, Bioresources and Aquaculture of the Siberian State University of Engineering and Biotechnology Dmitry Kropachev warned in a conversation with TASS. According to him, the likely regions of rogue bear appearances this winter will be Altai Krai, the Altai Republic, Novosibirsk, Tomsk and Irkutsk regions, and Krasnoyarsk Krai. The specialist noted that in harvested animals, including those culled as a result of population control, fat thickness in places is less than 1 cm, which indicates a high probability that a significant number of bears will not go into hibernation.

No statistics

At the same time, it is not yet possible to name the exact number of rogue bears in a particular region — there is no statistics on this type of bear, Kropachev noted.

Recommendations for residents of Novokuznetsk

Earlier, the city service 'Protection of Population and Territory' urged residents of Novokuznetsk to exercise particular caution amid increasingly frequent appearances of bears near populated areas. Experts emphasized that in the event of an unexpected encounter with a large animal, one must behave with extreme caution: attempts to scare the predator or approach it may create a threat. According to specialists, when encountering a bear, one must not try to run away, look the predator directly in the eyes, try to feed it, or approach bear cubs.