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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- | |
| Russia is fighting bears. In some regions, people are being restricted because of the predators | |
| 2026-09-26 | |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Elizaveta Novikova [Regnum] This fall, bears are increasingly frequenting villages, roads, schools, kindergartens, and tourist routes. In some regions, the predators have already forced changes to everyday life—closing forests, canceling outdoor celebrations, restricting outdoor walks, and stationing hunters near schools. And sometimes an encounter with a bear ends in death. In recent weeks alone, several regions have reported bear attacks and fatalities. In Buryatia, a bear fatally injured a 56-year-old man, and a few days later, another person died after a suspected attack. In Kamchatka, a bear attacked hunters, and in Ust-Kamchatsk, it entered a protected area and killed a guard. In the Tomsk region, two people died while searching for a missing cow in the forest. People in the Angara region were also attacked, and seven people died as a result of predators in the Krasnoyarsk region. Authorities are responding to these developments with increasingly stringent restrictions. In the Slyudyansky District of the Irkutsk Region, due to encounters with bears, school assemblies and festive events on September 1 had to be moved indoors. Outdoor activities are prohibited from 9:00 PM to 7:00 AM, and large outdoor events have been canceled. A state of high alert has been declared in Kamchatka. Hunters are on duty near schools in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. In the Ust-Kamchatsky District, teenagers under 18 are prohibited from being outside at night without an adult. Following the death of a tourist in Altai, access to Yailu was restricted, and routes through the Altai Biosphere Reserve were closed until the end of the tourist season. In Krasnoyarsk Krai, hunters were given additional incentives. Since September 11, they have been receiving 36,500 rubles for each legally killed bear in hunting grounds. As a result, people are increasingly forced to change their lifestyles to avoid encounters with bears. Regnum News Agency investigated how Russian regions are trying to bring bears back to the forest. KRASNOYARSK KRAI: SEVEN DEAD, HUNDREDS OF BEARS, AND A CRIMINAL CASE In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the bear situation has escalated to criminal prosecution. Following the deaths of six people in bear attacks, the Investigative Committee has launched an investigation into the regional Ministry of Natural Resources under the charge of negligence resulting in the deaths of two or more people. According to investigators, the regional ministry is responsible for animal census, population management, and responding to threats to human life. Since the beginning of the year, residents of the region have received over a thousand reports of bears near populated areas, with over 120 such reports in September alone. The animals have been spotted not only in the region's districts but also in Krasnoyarsk, Zheleznogorsk, and Zelenogorsk. Seven people died in September. Among them were two women who had gone mushroom picking near Podtesovo, a shift worker in the Motyginsky District, a pensioner in the Ermakovsky District, and a logging equipment guard near the village of Potapovo, who was attacked on the night of September 23. On September 25, in the village of Voznesenka in Krasnoyarsk Krai, a woman was mauled by a bear. She left her home and saw the bear attempting to enter a cattle pen. The bear immediately attacked the woman, and she died before paramedics arrived. Meanwhile, the bears have ventured far beyond the taiga. In Krasnoyarsk itself, three animals were shot within a week. One was seen near the toboggan run in Bobrovy Log, another in the Stolby area. Due to the predators' activity, visitor restrictions were imposed in natural areas, and the Ergaki Nature Park closed tourist routes entirely. According to official monitoring, the brown bear population in the region is approximately 26,600 individuals. However, Dmitry Belenyuk, a game warden and lecturer at Krasnoyarsk State Agrarian University, estimates it to be higher—over 30,000. He claims that over the past 10–20 years, the population has grown from approximately 10,000 animals. "It was the same last year, the same the year before. It's like a snowball: bigger and bigger and bigger," says Beleniuk. The expert attributes this primarily to the increasing population of bears and reduced hunting pressure. He believes the bear population has become so numerous that their traditional habitat is no longer sufficient. The reason for these encounters with humans remains a matter of debate. Belenyuk believes it's a mistake to attribute the situation solely to a lack of natural food. He points out that bears photographed near villages often appear well-fed. "Look at the videos of the hunts: they're young animals, and even there you can see they're not skinny little creatures with their ribs sticking out, but well-fed beasts. We had two permits closed in our hunting grounds last week—hunters shot two bears. I can tell you: the amount of fat was like it was late November," the game warden says. In his opinion, the problem must be addressed primarily through population control. Beleniuk believes that current measures have come too late. The regional Ministry of Natural Resources disagrees with this explanation. Nikolai Maltsev, head of the State Hunting Inspection Department, says the official population has remained between 25,000 and 32,000 for the past ten years, with the 2026 figure set at 26,600. He believes the main reason for the current declines is a poor forage harvest. According to him, this has affected the southern and central parts of Krasnoyarsk Krai, as well as neighboring regions of Siberia. At the same time, Maltsev acknowledges the scale of what is happening. "I'm not afraid to say it, but what's happening can be called a natural disaster. It directly affects people's safety," he says. According to him, game managers and hunters have been working in an enhanced mode for the second month now. "People haven't slept for two months now, trying to deal with the consequences of something that couldn't have been predicted," says Maltsev. In the wake of the deadly attacks, the region has sharply increased population control. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, by September 23, 176 orders had been issued authorizing the harvest of 1,135 bears. By that time, 631 animals had actually been harvested. In the Yenisei District alone, 16 orders are in effect for the harvest of 179 bears, of which 102 have already been harvested. At the same time, authorities are trying to attract ordinary hunters to this work. Since September 11, the region has been offering a 36,500 ruble bonus
However, the problem is not only the size of the reward. Over the past ten years, the established bear harvest quota in the region has been exceeded by an average of only about 15%. In the 2025/26 season, hunters were allowed to harvest 4,616 animals, but by early September, only 244 had been harvested. "There's been a long-standing shortage of hunters willing to hunt bears in the region," explains Nikolai Maltsev. According to him, the hunting community is aging, and bear hunting itself is becoming less popular. Another issue concerns the federal permitting procedure. As of September 1, 2025, a bear harvest permit is valid for 30 days. For bear hunting, this period is often insufficient: the animal must be found, tracked down, and harvested in a specific hunting area. Maltsev says the regions have already proposed changes to the procedure. At the federal level, discussions are underway on extending the permit validity period and simplifying the issuance process. Meanwhile, the Krasnoyarsk Territory is attempting to address the problem in several ways: tightening population controls, paying hunters for the animals they kill, strengthening hunting supervision, and restricting public access to the most dangerous areas. ALTAI KRAI: BEARS ARE MOVING TOWARDS VILLAGES In Altai, the bear situation truly worsened at the end of summer. The predators were spotted near highways and populated areas, entering agricultural fields, destroying apiaries, and attacking livestock. In the last week alone, the Altai Krai Ministry of Natural Resources received approximately 40 reports from residents about bears near or directly within populated areas. According to Maxim Katernyuk, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the region, this includes the migration of animals from the neighboring Altai Republic – large groups are moving to the Soltonsky, Yeltsovsky, and Krasnogorsky districts. The geography was truly impressive. In late August, tracks of an adult bear were found approximately 500 meters from the village of Novopovalikha in the Pervomaysky District. The animal had wandered into a sunflower field. The bear was also filmed on the Barnaul-Kemerovo highway near the border with the Kemerovo Region, in the Soltonsky District, and near the village of Shatunovo. But experts explain what is happening not by an invasion in the usual sense of the word, but primarily by a lack of food. According to Maksym Katernyuk, this year has been particularly challenging for bears: there was virtually no rain this summer, the food supply has dwindled, and mushrooms and berries are scarce. Meanwhile, three years ago, the region experienced a good pine nut harvest, which led to an increase in the bear population by approximately 8% and more litters. Now, the increased population has to be fed during the lean season. "They're not looking for food because life is good," explains a representative of the regional Ministry of Natural Resources. Gamekeeper Alexander Mazanko from the Baevsky District also attributes the bear outbreaks to a food shortage. However, there are virtually no bears in his district: the area is unsuitable for their permanent habitation. Therefore, he says, it's impossible to describe the entire Altai Krai as equally problematic. According to Mazanko, there are enough specialists to monitor the situation in their region: small hunting farms operate independently, and game managers and rangers are constantly on site. A representative of the "Altai Hunting" company offers a similar assessment. In his area, he says, the current season, on the contrary, doesn't seem unusual. "We don't have any problems with bears. There were always plenty of them, but now there are even fewer. We had a bad winter—there are fewer tracks, we see them less often than last year." He said there had been no attacks on people in his area. He believes that some media reports about bear "invasions" may create the impression that the problem is the same throughout the region. He also notes a shortage of natural food: there are fewer nuts and berries. Where other food—roots, gophers, and small animals—is plentiful, the animals don't come to people. The exception, according to him, is certain areas of the Charyshsky district, in particular the Kumir River valley: "The food supply there is worse. That's why they're starting to go to apiaries and villages." Where meetings are held regularly, the situation is different. Oleg Ilyinov, director of the Medved hunting farm, says he's seen a noticeable increase in the number of requests. After calling 112, the information is received. Then the usual hunting ground procedure begins: "They call me 112. I call the hunters, gather people, and we leave. The police are on their way too." Typically, two or three people are dispatched to the scene. They first try to determine whether a bear is actually nearby and whether it poses a threat. Ilyinov says that during his time on the job, not every report was confirmed. According to him, out of more than a hundred field trips, the actual presence of a bear was confirmed in only a few cases: "Sometimes people see tracks somewhere and call to report a bear. But we arrive and it's gone." Maksym Katernyuk explains the official picture. According to him, bears have indeed been spotted near people more often this year. The reasons include a poor harvest of mushrooms, berries, and pine nuts, the heat, and the lack of rain. “If everything was fine in the forest with mushrooms, berries, nuts, he would have stayed there peacefully.” There's another factor, too. Following a good pine nut harvest several years ago, the food supply was plentiful, stimulating reproduction. In the following years, the bear population in the region increased by approximately 8%. Now there is less food for such a population, and the animals go to where it is easier to find - to fields, to apiaries, to livestock, and sometimes directly to villages. At the same time, Katernyuk emphasizes that the bear generally avoids humans for now. Danger arises when the animal becomes accustomed to feeding near humans or when humans approach it—for example, trying to photograph bear cubs. Therefore, in Altai, they are now trying to establish the fastest possible response chain: a call to 911, the dispatch of police, hunters, and gamekeepers, a survey of the area, and only then a decision on further action. For the bear itself, this may simply result in its return to the taiga. But if the animal begins to regularly visit people and poses a threat, authorities begin to regulate its population. KAMCHATKA: HUNTERS ARE ON DUTY NEAR SCHOOLS, AND BEARS ARE BEING SEARCHED FOR THROUGHOUT THE REGION. In Kamchatka, the bear situation escalated in September after several dangerous encounters with people. In Ust-Kamchatsk, a bear entered a protected area, breaking through a fence and defying guard dogs, resulting in the death of a guard. A high alert was declared in the district, and adolescents under 18 were prohibited from being outdoors without an adult between 7:30 PM and 7:30 AM. In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a state of heightened alert has been in effect since September 9. After a bear appeared near School No. 24, a hunter was posted there, and parents were asked to accompany their children to and from school. In Palana, on September 16, a bear climbed over a fence and found its way onto the school grounds. It was eliminated following a decision by an interagency task force. The authorities have established a permanent response system. Hunters, gamekeepers, and police are deployed in populated areas. Reports are received through the Emergency Dispatch Service and 112, and dangerous animals are removed as part of population control measures. Alexander Vakhrin, a game biologist and director of the Zhivaya Voda hunting company, says the changes are being felt directly by those working in the hunting grounds: "They've been working to remove dangerous animals in the agglomerations of Yelizovo, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and around populated areas in general. And it's noticeable—there are fewer villages and towns around the city." At the same time, the hunter himself, who recently returned from the mountains, speaks of a large number of animals already outside of populated areas: "We encountered four or five bears a day. Usually you encounter one or two." According to him, the problem isn't limited to individual bears that venture into cities. Large numbers of the animals also persist in the wild. Mikhail Gurkin, deputy chairman of the Kamchatka Regional Society of Hunters and Fishermen, says the current situation doesn't mean a completely new job for gamekeepers. "Nothing has changed for gamekeepers, because that's their job description. All gamekeepers have a permit to harvest bears as part of population control measures to prevent emergencies involving animals approaching people or economic facilities." According to him, this system became especially active after 2024. Back then, as far as he remembers, 123 permits for bear population control were issued; in 2025, 87; and in 2026, at the time of our conversation, 65. At the same time, Gurkin notes that the peak of tension occurred in the summer: "There was quite a bit of tension in June, July, and August. Now the situation has calmed down. People still come out here and there, but there's no longer any mass exodus." One of the reasons remains the food supply. In Kamchatka, the salmon run was weak this year, but according to experts, the bears were partially helped by other food sources—rowan berries and dwarf pine nuts. Vladimir Gordienko, a researcher at the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, points out another factor: bears quickly remember places where they once found easy food: "One lucky visit is enough. The animal happens to be near a human and finds food in a trash can. It remembers the place, and it then becomes part of its life's journey." According to him, it is the available organic matter—food scraps, fish scraps, garbage—that most strongly perpetuates such routes: "There will be no organic matter, the bear will pass by, and we won't even know about it." Gordienko believes that humans can indeed influence the number of conflicts: first and foremost, it's necessary to prevent animals from accessing food waste. Vakhrin, however, points to another aspect of the problem: the bear population and the decline in hunting pressure. According to him, the animals used to be more wary of humans: Gamekeeper Krechmar proposed reinstating the culling of conflict bears. "The bear was afraid to approach humans, sensing a potential threat. Now, however, that threat is gone." Kamchatka is using several measures simultaneously: patrolling villages, guarding schools, placing restrictions on children, monitoring litter, and targeted population control. However, experts themselves note that there is no universal way to keep bears away from people—much depends on the prey base and the behavior of the individual animal. As a reminder, in early September, Regnum News Agency examined why bears are increasingly approaching people and why traditional methods of protection are no longer effective. At the time, experts cited growing bear populations, a shortage of natural food, accessible landfills, and reduced hunting pressure. Recent weeks have shown that the problem hasn't gone away – now we're talking not only about encounters in the forest, but also about closed routes, school vigils, restrictions for residents, and new fatal attacks. | |
| Posted by:badanov |