The authorities have drawn up a list of practical tips for locals on how to survive encounters with bears, and famished bears have reportedly started digging up graves in cemeteries.
Last summer was Russia’s hottest on record, with raging forest fires and droughts wiping out woodland and crops, forcing the bears to forage closer and closer to human settlements as the winter hibernation period approaches.
Since the month of August, the authorities in Komi have been receiving reports about brown bears in or close to residential areas. There are also reports about people being attacked by the animals, web site Komi Online reports.
The local authorities have issued a pocket folder with instructions on how to behave if one encounters a bear. The guide warns that residents should stay calm and stand still if they meet a bear. “Speak to the bear in a firm voice” and “Don’t turn your back on it,” it adds. In the worst-case scenario, if the bear attacks, the victim should behave aggressively, the guide says. “Shout angrily at it and look it straight in the eyes,” it advises.
In the beginning of October a bear was observed eating on a corpse it had dug up at a cemetery outside Syktyvkar, Komi Online writes in another article.
