Two die in bear crisis

LARGE numbers of hungry, aggressive bears are approaching humans and have killed two people in Russia’s far east due to depleting food sources, a forestry worker says.

Authorities on Sakhalin island last week said 83 bears had to be shot dead because they were hostile, nearly triple the number from last year.

“There are not enough fish, berries, nuts,” a local forestry worker said, adding that overfishing of local salmon was partly to blame.

“There should not have been any fishing nets installed at all this summer.”