Daniel Wolfram
Bear attacks are becoming more common in Russia.
Three locals were searching for wild berries deep in the Siberian woods when chaos erupted and tragedy struck.
A brown bear ambushed the men in a remote forest along the Lena River.
The bear kills two; a third escapes attack
The animal killed two of the Siberian locals, aged 55 and 65, on Wednesday. The third man got lucky. He managed to break free and sprint through the woods to raise the alarm.
“One person managed to escape and report the incident,” the regional branch of Russia’s Interior Ministry said, according to The Moscow Times.
Police and local hunters launched a search operation into the woods. When the searchers reached the site, they discovered the victims’ bodies, and then the bear returned. Police opened fire, but the wounded animal managed to escape.
Fatal encounters continue to rise
This deadly encounter is far from an isolated tragedy. A report by The Moscow Times revealed that at least 14 people have lost their lives in bear attacks across Russia since the start of the year.
There have also been deaths reported in residential areas. In the nearby Krasnoyarsk region, investigators reported on Wednesday that a bear killed a 66-year-old woman right inside her village home.
Fear among local residents has grown steadily as encounters near human settlements become more common. In response, authorities have reportedly killed more than 530 aggressive bears across Rusia since spring.
What the numbers show
Despite growing public concern over the bear maulings, government officials offer a different perspective. Russia’s Natural Resources and Environment Ministry has downplayed reports of an unprecedented spike in attacks this year.
According to ministry figures, annual attack numbers usually hover between 20 and 30 incidents, counting both fatal and non-fatal cases.
Russia’s brown bear population has more than doubled since 1990. There are now an estimated total of 307,000 bears across the nation.
