RUSSIA MAY KILL 50 ‘ INVADING’ POLAR BEARS

Moscow, Feb. 11: Novaya Zemlya, a Russian archipelago stretching into the Arctic Ocean which used to play host to Soviet nuclear tests, is facing a new kind of invasion. It has declared a state of emergency to fight the invaders after more than 50 polar bears forced inland by shrinking sea ice broke into homes and offices.

Some even attacked people on the islands, an official said, but hunting them is banned in Russia, though the authorities reportedly warn a cull may be the only answer if other means fail.

Marine ecologists say global warming is making many such species vulnerable and the situation has now become traumatic for humans.

Polar bears are born on land, but they live mostly on sea ice hunting and feeding on seals.

As Arctic ice thins, they move ashore and scavenge. Scientists have attached body cameras to nine polar bears to observe how they survive in the inhospitable conditions. Local officials vowed action after “numerous oral and written complaints demanding to ensure safety in the settlement." “I have been in Novaya Zemlya since 1983, but there have never been so many polar bears in the vicinity,” TASS, state news agency, quoted Zhigansha Musin, a local administrative head, as saying.