Villagers in Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula were stunned this week by the sight of an exhausted-looking polar bear wandering around (and on top of!) their homes, scavenging for food, hundreds of miles away from its normal habitat. Did climate change cause this? Maybe.
On Wednesday, Russian regional and national media [here’s one, here’s another, and another] reported the polar bear, who looks emaciated and very tired from their ordeal, somehow wandered into Tilichiki village, roughly 700 km/430 miles south of Kamchatka.
Here’s video of the poor feller poking around homes in the little village, video posted by Kamchatka Krai on IG.
From the Associated Press:
Environmentalists say the bear could have lost its bearings while drifting on an ice floe.
Locals are making it feel welcome, giving it some fish.
Authorities in Kamchatka are preparing a rescue effort later this week, in which they will use a sedative to put the bear to sleep and then airlift it to Chukotka in a helicopter.
More photos from Russian media, and videos from social media observers right in the area of the incident, below.
[via @APDiploWriter, image at top of post: @kamchatskiy_sever]