Starving Kamchatka brown bears eat two men, leave Russians in fear

Hundreds of terrified workers at an isolated mining compound in Russia are refusing to return to work after a pack of hungry bears killed and ate two guards.

A pack of up to 30 Kamchatka brown bears has been prowling the area around two mines in Russia's Pacific Kamchatka region, searching for food. Now, a team of snipers is being dispatched to hunt the bears after receiving authorization from the government.

"These predators have to be destroyed," Village leader Viktor Leushkin told the ITAR-Tass news agency. "Once they kill a human, they will do it again and again."

But experts told the (London) Times that a "mass slaugher is unnecessary" and that they could instead focus on the few bears that killed the workers and try to frighten the rest of the group back to forest areas.

Kamchatka brown bears, similar to grizzlies, can stand 10 feet tall on their hind legs and weigh up to 1,500 pounds. Bears are revered and honored in Russian culture -- the equivalent of bald eagles in the United States -- an irony that has made the attacks even more disturbing.

The bears usually feed on salmon, but environmentalists say widespread fish poaching in the scarcely populated region, home to 16,000 bears, has forced them closer to human settlements to root through garbage and, at times, attack humans.

--Tony Barboza

Photo: Vitaly Nikolayenko/For The Times

Comments

[Brien Comerford]

This is a very unsetlling and grievous story. The Bears are dangerous as a result of humans poaching their salmon. Bears need to eat salmon, humans do no have to eat any flesh-foods.

[Chris, Myles, Andrew F]

This Article is very interesting, but I do not believe that a team of snipers is completely necessary and that a animal tracker could do the same job just as easy.

[Mr. W. + E.S. maggie&lauren&tiffaaany]

the bears in kamchatka are crazy & the guards were stupid. everyone should stay away from a sketchy looking group of bears. bears should be more contained if their territory is near civilization & people should know not to go near groups of bears.

[jonna]

I don't think that the bears need to be killed. I think its the people who are getting in the way of the bears.

[Nicholas Lee]

The fact is, the humans are the reason for the agressive bears. by poaching the salmon they are bassicly starving the bears and with nothing else to eat it was innevitable that they would resort to eating humans.

[Alyssa and Julie]

It's very sad that the bears have to be killed, especially because they probably attacked because humans are poaching their main food source. However, it is also sad that the humans were killed.

[breanna thompson]

they shouldt have guards in Kamchacka because its the bears territory not ours.

[Julie & Bellla]

We think its silly that Viktor Leushkin thinks that all the bears need to be killed. People do not know why they ate the two guards but it could have been because they did not have enough food that they normally eat.

[Samantha & Mariah]

It is not necessary to kill off a member of our wildlife, when they are starving, and coming to close in contact with humans. If they have food, they will stop approaching humans.

[Julie & Bellla]

It is ridiculous how in order for humans to feel safe, they need to kill bears when there is another way to solve this. We believe that there was a lack of food, and the bears had to eat people to stay alive. Also, we do not know how the guards were treating the bears. They could have been harassing them which would have made them angry. Killing all the bears is not the only solution to the problem. If bears killing two people is so horrible, how is it ok for people to kill thousands of bears?

[Montee & Chris]

i don't think people should kill the bears because they are just going to lower there population. Maybe they should try and move them to a different place thats less crowded but has the same environment. But they should only move the bears that are coming near humans.

[Ryan Rosa]

I also agree that snipers are unnecessary. I believe that another solution should be found to this problem instead of killing these bears. Like all animals, bears require food and if something gets in their way, they most likely will attack. If people were to either stay away from these bears or find a way to restore the salmon population to a higher level, then the bears may become less aggressive.

[Steve]

I feel that the precautions taken to prevent another bear attack in Kamchatka are unnessacary. The snipers are completley unnessacary, just because a few bears attacked dosent mean every bear will, so the hunting of these bears is uncalled for. Also, this is not the first bear attack in the history of mankind so it is not uncommon for this to happen so why make this one instance a big deal?