Three members of a family, including a child, were injured by a polar bear in a rare attack in the far north of Siberia, Russian officials said Monday.
Local police “received a report of a polar bear injuring people 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the village of Nosok” at a fishing spot, the regional interior ministry said on Telegram.
Nosok is in the Krasnoyarsk region inside the Arctic Circle.
“Three citizens, born in 1983, 2015 and 2006 have been injured in the polar bear attack,” the ministry said.
The family was evacuated to safety and given immediate assistance.
The ministry did not say how serious their injuries were but said one person may require hospitalization.
Polar bear attacks on humans are considered extremely rare but experts say shrinking sea ice caused by global warming is pushing them to approach inhabited areas in search of food. Arctic temperatures are increasing at over double the global rate since 2006, according to a NOAA report released last month.
In August 2024, a pair of polar bears attacked and killed a worker at a remote government radar site in the Canadian Arctic. Four months after that, a man was seriously injured as he tried to protect his wife from a polar bear attack in Northern Ontario, Canada.
In 2023, a polar bear killed a woman and her young son in Wales, Alaska, just below the Arctic Circle. That marked the first fatal polar bear attack in 30 years in Alaska, the only U.S. state that is home to the animals.
Researchers in northern Canada have observed a rare case of polar bear adoption, capturing video footage of a wild female bear caring for a cub that was not her own.
“Cub adoption is relatively rare in polar bears. We’ve documented 13 cases in our study population over the last 45 years,” said Evan Richardson, a scientist with Canada’s ministry for environment and climate change.
The footage of a bear caring for an adopted cub was captured during the annual polar bear migration along the Western Hudson Bay in Churchill, Manitoba, widely known as the polar capital of the world.
Canadian researchers encountered the mother in the spring as she left her maternity den. She had only one cub, which was tagged — a common practice to aid study of the population.
They encountered the same mother again weeks ago but saw a second cub with no ear tag, Richardson told AFP.
“When we went back and looked at the data, we realized that she had adopted a second cub,” he said.
Video footage collected by the researchers shows the cubs surveying a snow-covered landscape, with the mother pacing behind, and one sequence where one cub hurries to join the others.
Both cubs are 10 to 11 months old, and will likely stay with their mother until about 2.5 years of age.
“When we got confirmation that this was an adoption, I had a lot of mixed feelings, but mostly good,” Alysa McCall, a staff scientist with Polar Bears International, said in a video provided to the CBC. “It’s just another reason why this species is so incredible, why they’re so fascinating and interesting, and it gives you a lot of hope when you realize that polar bears may be looking out for each other out there.”
Researchers currently have no information as to what happened to the adopted cub’s biological mother.
But having a maternal figure increases the chances of the cub’s survival into adulthood, Richardson said.
“It’s really a feel-good story to know that this female bear is looking after this cub and that it has a chance at survival,” Richardson said.
“These female polar bears are such good moms, they’re maternally primed to take care of offspring, and when there’s a lone cub out on the tundra, bawling and crying, they just take them under their wing,” he added.
There are currently about 26,000 polar bears worldwide, according to the nonprofit Polar Bears International. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists polar bears as a vulnerable species, saying sea ice loss from climate change is the biggest threat to their survival.
This isn’t the first time wild animals have been observed with babies that aren’t their own. Earlier this year, scientists said video showed capuchin monkeys carrying at least 11 howler babies in Panama.
At first, the researchers thought it was a “heartwarming story of a weird capuchin adopting these infants,” said Zoë Goldsborough, a behavioral ecologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany.
But Goldsborough said they eventually realized the abductions were a social tradition or “fad” among the island’s young male capuchins, and in most or all cases, the baby howlers died.
Polar bears cranberry and Kova have long been favorites at the Alaska Zoo. Best buddies, they share an enclosure filled with toys and treats and *** large pool where Kova in particular likes to take her morning swim, but it wasn’t so long ago this normally playful four year old was feeling under the weather. Kova is *** very interactive and busy bear, and she just seemed kind of off. She was pawing at her mouth *** little bit. Good girl. Curator Sam Lavins suspected an issue with *** tooth. Kova open, so she asked Kova to give her *** closer look. We could see that she had broken one of her canines, and there’s any number of ways she could have done that. Just to give you an idea of what we’re talking about, this is *** replica of *** polar bear skull, and the tooth in question is this one. It’s the lower left canine. This one is her broken tooth. X-ray confirmed the diagnosis and what needed to happen next. We did consult with *** uh specialist, *** veterinary specialist outside of Alaska, um, sent him the X-rays, got some good advice, and then we went with *** local doctor to do the work. And endedonist who normally operates on humans was part of the large team that performed. Root canal on the fully sedated 450 pound bear. Everybody knew ahead of time what their role was and what to do and where to be, and it was, it was so well planned out and everybody worked so well together. The procedure, she says, went as smooth as butter, and Kova, she feels so much better, is clearly back to having fun.
‘She feels so much better’: Young polar bear gets a root canal
Polar bears Cranbeary and Kova have long been favorites at the Alaska Zoo. They share an enclosure filled with toys and treats and a large pool where Kova likes to take her morning swim.But it wasn’t so long ago that this normally playful 4-year-old was feeling under the weather.”Kova is a very interactive and busy bear, and she just seemed kind of off. She was pawing at her mouth a little bit,” Alaska Zoo curator Sam Lavin said.Lavin suspected an issue with a tooth, so she asked Kova to give her a closer look.”We could see that she had broken one of her canines, and there’s any number of ways that she could have done that.” An X-ray confirmed the diagnosis and what needed to happen next.”We did consult with a veterinary specialist outside of Alaska, sent him the X-rays, got some good advice, and then we went with a local doctor to do the work,” Lavin said.An endodontist who normally operates on humans was part of the large team that performed the root canal on the fully sedated 450-pound bear.”Everybody knew ahead of time what their role was and what to do and where to be, and it was so well planned out. and everybody worked so well together,” Lavin said.The procedure, she says, went as smoothly as butter — and Kova is back to having fun.
Polar bears Cranbeary and Kova have long been favorites at the Alaska Zoo. They share an enclosure filled with toys and treats and a large pool where Kova likes to take her morning swim.
But it wasn’t so long ago that this normally playful 4-year-old was feeling under the weather.
“Kova is a very interactive and busy bear, and she just seemed kind of off. She was pawing at her mouth a little bit,” Alaska Zoo curator Sam Lavin said.
Lavin suspected an issue with a tooth, so she asked Kova to give her a closer look.
“We could see that she had broken one of her canines, and there’s any number of ways that she could have done that.”
An X-ray confirmed the diagnosis and what needed to happen next.
“We did consult with a veterinary specialist outside of Alaska, sent him the X-rays, got some good advice, and then we went with a local doctor to do the work,” Lavin said.
An endodontist who normally operates on humans was part of the large team that performed the root canal on the fully sedated 450-pound bear.
“Everybody knew ahead of time what their role was and what to do and where to be, and it was so well planned out. and everybody worked so well together,” Lavin said.
The procedure, she says, went as smoothly as butter — and Kova is back to having fun.
It has been a challenging time for the San Diego Zoo, where three beloved animals — a polar bear, giraffe and gorilla — died within days of each other.
The latest death occurred Monday, when Maka, a 30-year-old Western lowland gorilla, suffered a cardiac event, according to zoo officials.
His sudden death came four days after Kalluk, a 24-year-old male polar bear; and Nicky, a 28-year-old Masai giraffe, were euthanized on the same day to minimize suffering as they neared the end of their lives.
“That week was hard. We were like: ‘We just can’t catch a break right now,’” said Nicki Boyd, curator of mammals, ambassadors and applied behavior at the zoo.
The three animals were longtime residents of the zoo, capturing the eyes and hearts of visitors while helping promote conservation efforts for their species.
Kalluk, a 24-year-old polar bear at the San Diego Zoo, was euthanized on Aug. 14.
(Ken Bohn / San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance)
The woeful week began on Aug. 14, when a wildlife health and care team conducted a medical examination of Kalluk. They had noticed a change in his behavior for the past few weeks.
“Getting the call that he was in kidney failure was just a gut punch,” Boyd said.
Kalluk arrived at the San Diego Zoo as a cub in 2001 after being orphaned along with his sister, Tatqiq. Zoo officials said he was inquisitive, gentle and smart.
“His presence in Polar Bear Plunge helped foster bonds with his sister and Chinook, another orphaned female polar bear,” zoo officials said in a statement. “Through caring for Kalluk, the zoo has supported a large number of polar bear conservation projects over the years that aid in the protection of polar bears around the world.”
Kalluk had exceeded the typical lifespan of a male polar bear in the wild, which is about 18 years, according to zoo officials.
The same day Kalluk’s life was coming to an end, so was Nicky’s.
Nicky was not only the matriarch of her herd, but was believed to be the oldest giraffe in North America, according to zoo officials.
She helped show other first-time mothers how to care for their calves. Her son was also the bull of the herd.
At 28 years old, Nicky was believed to be the oldest Masai giraffe in North America, and was the matriarch of her herd at the San Diego Zoo.
(Ken Bohn / San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance)
“She just had a grandson born and to see her go up to that new mom and that new giraffe calf and nuzzle that baby, she’s always been a great leader in that giraffe herd,” Boyd said. “ She’s always been a fan favorite from guests to the employees.”
The wildlife care team was able to have quality time with Nicky, spoiling her with leaves from her favorite tree and allowing former staffers to visit and say goodbye.
“That’s what makes us feel better that her last day is not her worst day,” Boyd said.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance staff members were still grieving when they were further rocked by Maka’s death this week.
Maka was born at the zoo and became leader of the zoo’s bachelor troop, officials said in a statement.
“He was the oldest, most experienced member and patiently guided his younger brothers, Ekuba and Denny,” the statement read.
Zoo officials said that Maka was 5 when he was diagnosed with chromosomal abnormalities and had been receiving treatment throughout his life.
“Recently, he began experiencing brief seizures, prompting our team to monitor his wellness closely and schedule ongoing comprehensive evaluations,” zoo officials said on a recent Instagram post about his death. They said he experienced a cardiac event during this week’s exam.
“Despite the heroic and sustained efforts of our wildlife health and care teams, we lost our gentle giant,” zoo officials wrote on the social media post.
Boyd, who has been working at the zoo for more than 30 years, said it was the first time three animals had been lost in such a short period.
She said the zoo is home to more than 12,000 animals, each with its own lifespan.
While death is inevitable, it’s always difficult for the wildlife health and care teams who spend years forming bonds with the animals.
Boyd said there’s some comfort in knowing the animals lived long good lives, which spoke to the attention and care they received from the staff.
Maka, who was born at the San Diego Zoo and became the leader of the zoo’s bachelor troop, died on Aug. 18.
(San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance)
“But you know, finality and letting go is always hard,” she said.
As a way to help with the grieving process, Boyd said they’ve made stickers of Nicky and Kalluk and plan to make some of Maka that will get distributed to staff.
Zoo officials have notified the public about the losses on their Instagram. Hundreds of people as well as other zoos across the country, have responded with empathy, expressing their love and support.
Boyd said the responses have helped her and the staff with their own healing processes.
“I’m so sorry! You guys have had to deal with so much loss these past two weeks, I’m so sorry! My heart goes out to you and all of the staff and volunteers,” one user commented on Instagram.
“Sending you and your teams our thoughts during this time! Be proud of the powerful conservation work you continue doing each and every day,” wrote the account for the Toronto Zoo.
A rare polar bear that was spotted outside a cottage in a remote village in Iceland was shot by police after being considered a threat, authorities said Friday.
The bear was killed Thursday afternoon in the northwest of Iceland after police consulted the Environment Agency, which declined to have the animal relocated, Westfjords Police Chief Helgi Jensson told The Associated Press.
“It’s not something we like to do,” Jensson said. “In this case, as you can see in the picture, the bear was very close to a summer house. There was an old woman in there.”
The owner, who was alone, was frightened and locked herself upstairs as the bear rummaged through her garbage, Jensson said. She contacted her daughter in Reykjavik, the nation’s capital, by satellite link, and called for help.
“She stayed there,” Jensson said, adding that other summer residents in the area had gone home. “She knew the danger.”
This handout photo shows a polar bear that was shot by the police after being considered a threat to people nearby, authorities said, in Westfjords, Iceland, Thursday Sept. 19, 2024.
Ingvar Jakobsson / AP
Polar bears are not native to Iceland but occasionally come ashore after traveling on ice floes from Greenland, according to Anna Sveinsdóttir, director of scientific collections at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. Many icebergs have been spotted off the north coast in the last few weeks.
Although attacks by polar bears on humans are extremely rare, a study in Wildlife Society Bulletin in 2017 said the loss of sea ice from global warming has led more hungry bears to land, putting them in a greater chance of conflicts with humans and leading to a greater risk to both.
In 2021, scientists in Norway found polar bears were inbreeding as the species fights to survive. A study found that on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, polar bear populations have seen a 10% loss in their genetic diversity from 1995 to 2016.
A 2020 study found that the melting sea ice is starving polar bears and that within the century, polar bears could be extinct. Declining genetic diversity increases the risk of extinction.
Of 73 documented attacks by polar bears from 1870 to 2014 in Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and United States – which killed 20 people and injured 63 – 15 occurred in the final five years of that period.
More recently, a pair of polar bears attacked and killed a worker last month at a remote government radar site in the Canadian Arctic. In 2023, a polar bear emerged from a snow squall and killed a woman and her young son in in Wales, Alaska, just below the Arctic Circle.
The bear shot on Thursday was the first one seen in the country since 2016. Sightings are relatively rare with only 600 recorded in Iceland since the ninth century.
While the bears are a protected species in Iceland and it’s forbidden to kill one at sea, they can be killed if they pose a threat to humans or livestock.
After two bears arrived in 2008, a debate over killing the threatened species led the environment minister to appoint a task force to study the issue, the institute said. The task force concluded that killing vagrant bears was the most appropriate response.
The group said the nonnative species posed a threat to people and animals, and the cost of returning them to Greenland, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) away, was exorbitant. It also found there was a healthy bear population in east Greenland where any bear was likely to have come from.
The young bear, which weighed between 150 and 200 kilograms (300 to 400 pounds), will be taken to the institute to study. Scientists took samples from the bear Friday.
They will be checking for parasites and infections and evaluating its physical condition, such as the health of its organs and percentage of body fat, Sveinsdóttir said. The pelt and skull may be preserved for the institute’s collection.
A Coast Guard helicopter surveyed the area where the bear was found to look for others but didn’t find any, police said.
After the shot bear was taken away, the woman who reported it decided to stay longer in the village, Jensson said.
Wales, Alaska — A polar bear has attacked and killed two people in a remote village in western Alaska, according to state troopers.
Alaska State Troopers said they received the report of the attack at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in Wales, on the western tip of the Seward Peninsula, KTUU reported.
“Initial reports indicate that a polar bear had entered the community and had chased multiple residents,” troopers wrote. “The bear fatally attacked an adult female and juvenile male.”
The bear was shot and killed by a local resident as it attacked the pair, troopers said.
The names of the the two people killed weren’t released. Troopers said they were working to notify family members.
Troopers and the state Department of Fish and Game are planning to travel to Wales once weather allows for it, the dispatch said.
Wales is a small, predominantly Inupiaq town of about 150 people, just over 100 miles northwest of Nome.
Fatal polar bear attacks have been rare in Alaska’s recent history. In 1990, a polar bear killed a man farther north of Wales in the village of Point Lay. Biologists later said the animal showed signs of starvation, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
Alaska scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey in 2019 found changes in sea ice habitat had coincided with evidence that polar bears’ use of land was increasing and that the chances of a polar bear encounter had increased.
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