If you go down to the tip today, you’re in for a big surprise!
MORE than 50 hungry polar bears have invaded a remote Russian outpost, scavenging from rubbish tips and even raiding apartment blocks in search of food.
They have reportedly chased and attacked locals on the Arctic archipelago of Novaya Zemlya.
Residents say they are afraid to go outside in case they encounter a bear. A video clip shows one prowling the entrance hall of a block of flats – next to an empty pram parked in the corridor. Other images show 20 of the bears on a tip and a bear in a playground.
Authorities have declared a state of emergency, with extra fencing installed near schools to keep the animals out.
Resident Anastasia Bondarenko said the bears no longer felt threatened by humans. ‘This is scary,’ she said. ‘When they walk under your window at night, it is creepy.’ Local official Aleksandr Minayev said: ‘Daily life is in turmoil. Parents are wary of letting children go to schools and kindergartens. There are cases of aggressive behaviour of wild animals – attacks on people, going into residential and office buildings.’
Despite the siege, residents face prosecution if they shoot the endangered species. Instead, specialists from Moscow are advising on other measures to discourage the bears.
With Arctic sea ice retreating as a result of climate change, the bears have adjusted their habits as prey in their natural hunting grounds becomes scarce.