Rosneft told about the celebration of the Polar Bear Day

Rosneft volunteers organized an excursion to the Moscow Zoo for 100 children from Donbass and the Kursk region on the eve of Polar Bear Day, which is celebrated on February 27. The children learned about the peculiarities of caring for wild animals, their habits and diet, as well as about the professions needed in the zoo, the company's press service said.

The young visitors were particularly interested in the aviary with Aika the bear, which is under the care of Rosneft. This is the first polar bear to be born in a zoo in more than 30 years. She was transported to Moscow in 2023 at the age of three from the Rostov Zoo. During the children's visit, Aika dived into the pool and played with toys.

In addition, the volunteers organized a car quest "In the footsteps of the Polar Bear!" in St. Petersburg for Rosneft gas station customers. During the adventure game, participants followed a set route, performed various tasks at stops and got acquainted with facts from the life of Arctic inhabitants. One of the stops on the route was Rosneft's flagship gas station on Lakhtinsky Prospekt, where the players used road signs to unravel the code word "Arctic". The quest also included a visit to the Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic.

In Achinsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory, the company's volunteers conducted environmental lessons on the polar bear. Employees of the Achinsk Oil Refinery (part of Rosneft) told the children about the Far North, about the habits and characteristics of the polar bear. The children got acquainted with Rosneft's programs to protect Arctic inhabitants, as well as other animals and birds of the northern territories, and learned about the tasks and ways to preserve biodiversity. In addition, the company's environmentalists provided scientific and educational materials and methodological recommendations for use in the educational process in educational institutions of the city.

Since 2013, 35 polar bears in 16 Russian zoos have been under the care of Rosneft. The company provides them with full-fledged feeding, care, and veterinary support. As part of the corporate program for the care of polar bears, seven new aviary complexes have been built in zoos, and repairs and reconstructions of existing aviaries are carried out annually. With the support of the company, special toys have been developed to increase the physical activity of animals.

Rosneft is also implementing a comprehensive program to support and protect polar bears living in the wild without maternal care. As a result, six orphaned cubs have already been rescued in the Russian Arctic since 2016.

Since 2012, Rosneft has been organizing complex expeditions in the Far North. Hydrometeorological, geological, and biological research is carried out in cooperation with the country's leading scientific institutions on the coast, islands, and archipelagos in all seas of the Russian Arctic, from the Barents to the Chukchi seas.

In 2024, during the scientific expedition "Tamura", a full-scale accounting of polar bears was carried out. The scientists examined the coastal area and adjacent islands of the Kara Sea. For the first time, ear-mounted satellite transmitters were installed for animals to receive information about the movement of polar bears.

During field research in the territory of the Russian Arctic National Park on the islands of the Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land archipelagos, coastal observations of the Kara-Barents Sea polar bear population were carried out. The scientists collected biological samples and selected animal samples for subsequent laboratory processing.

The samples obtained during the expedition allowed for unique molecular genetic, serological, microbiological, hematological and toxicological analyses. A toxicological blood test can reveal the composition and levels of pollutants, including those of anthropogenic origin.

The obtained results help to significantly expand and update information about the population of polar bears living in the Russian Arctic — their migration routes, physical condition, as well as to develop measures for animal conservation.