Bears — in the corner: how do they deal with predator attacks in Russian regions?

A high-alert regime has been introduced in the Kemerovo region due to the increased number of cases of bears coming out to people. The measure is valid in five districts of the region. Several people have already suffered from predator attacks. Similar measures are being taken in other regions of Russia. Why bears are increasingly coming out to people, and what the authorities are doing to protect local residents — in the Izvestia article.

What is the situation in the Kemerovo region?

The authorities in Kuzbass have introduced a high-alert regime in five districts against the background of increased bear visits to people. This was announced by the Minister of Forestry and Hunting of the region Evgeny Boyko.

"A high-alert regime in connection with the appearance of bears in populated areas is being introduced by municipal administrations. According to the latest information, it has been introduced in Kaltan, Osinnikovsky, Prokopyevsky urban districts, Tashtagolsky and Mezhdurechensk municipal districts," RIA Novosti reports with reference to the ministry.

Bears don't just come out to people, but also attack local residents. In August, the Kuzbass Disaster Medicine press service reported on a bear attack on a man near the city of Mezhdurechensk. The victim managed to escape and escape, and was later evacuated by helicopter to a hospital for medical treatment. As noted by Anton Duzhik, a spokesman for the Kuzbass Clinical Center for Disaster Medicine (KCCMC), the man was taken to a medical facility in a moderate condition.

In addition, the Interior Ministry in the region had previously been informed about a predator attack on a pensioner. The attack took place near a horticultural association near Novokuznetsk. The bear was eliminated by a district policeman who responded to the call. A 68-year-old woman managed to survive, she was hospitalized with arm injuries.

In social networks, local residents also wrote about the appearance of predators in the private sector in the south of the region. In particular, according to users, a bear attack occurred in Shultalep, Kaltan district. The animal was neutralized. One of the residents of the region said that a bear cub had been seen earlier in the same area. People are afraid that over time, predators may begin to enter their homes.

What are the authorities doing to protect residents

Only at the end of summer, on August 28 and 29, according to local media, mobile groups neutralized 10 bears. Since the beginning of the year, the Unified Dispatch Service has received 37 reports of predators in various localities (there were just over 30 such reports in the whole of 2025). According to Konstantin Korobkin, the head of Kaltan, mobile groups and the police quickly leave at each signal.

Experts are actively shooting predators. Hunters have recently eliminated 10 individuals in Kaltan alone. And in neighboring Tashtagol, they plan to kill more than 100 animals. They can start rewarding you for shooting them.

"In the Tashtagol district, hunters will be rewarded by the decision of the head, this is correct. Bear hunting is a difficult and dangerous occupation," the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of the region commented on this.

Teams for the elimination of predators are formed from amateur hunters, but all of them have valid licenses for bear hunting, which has been officially allowed in the region since August 1.

"Their main tasks are to prevent a bear from entering a populated area or to find an animal in the taiga that has left the city but will return. By August 1, 17 permits had been issued. And the next auctions will be held in the near future, there will be more mining permits," the press service of the Tashtagol district administration explained.

What is the situation in other regions?

Brown bears are coming out to people more and more often, causing concern to residents and regional authorities. High—alert regimes have already been introduced in several regions of the Russian Federation - today, for example, the head of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Andrey Vorovsky, announced a similar measure. Even earlier, similar decisions were made in the Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk regions, Khakassia and the Altai Republic.

Animals not only come to populated areas, but also attack people. One such case was confirmed in Altai. The predator attacked the tourist, the girl died. The bear could not be scared away by the headlights, the noise, or the shots fired by the local gamekeeper.

In total, at least 17 animal attacks on humans have been recorded in Russia since the beginning of the year. Six people became victims as a result of the emergency.

At the same time, animals come to the residential area even in the south of the country. A few days ago, a bear wandered into a five-star hotel in Krasnaya Polyana. It did not come to a tragedy — the animal spent some time in the building, after which it left on its own.

Why are bears attacking more and more often

In many ways, the greater number of cases of attacks on humans is due to an increase in the number of bears, now there are 307.9 thousand in the country (since the 1990s, their number has increased by more than 2.3 times), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment told Izvestia. But these data, according to experts, are difficult to call accurate, because it is quite difficult to count animals in the forest.

Most bears live in the regions of Siberia and the Far East. Significant groups are concentrated in the Krasnoyarsk (26.6 thousand individuals), Khabarovsk (26.2 thousand) and Kamchatka (24.2 thousand) territories. Serious indicators are recorded in the Irkutsk region, Yakutia, as well as the Amur and Tomsk regions. In the Kemerovo region, the numbers are much lower — according to some reports, there are slightly more than 850 bears in the region.

At the same time, only 30% of the total number of these animals is allowed to be harvested in the country. And the limits in the regions are set, as a rule, below this mark. And the hunters themselves don't have much demand for the beast.

Another reason for predators to enter populated areas is the reduction of the food supply. Due to active deforestation, food is becoming scarce in natural conditions. As a result, bears are attracted by spontaneous landfills in places of concentration of vacationers, untimely waste removal and open access to food residues in the territories of tourist bases, summer cottages, apiaries and farms, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment explained.

In this context, it is important to take into account that now the most dangerous period for the regions where these animals live is at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, the so—called bait season falls. Animals, preparing for winter, actively move in search of high-calorie food. At this time, they can travel quite considerable distances from the places where they usually live.

What to do when encountering a predator

In case of a sudden encounter with a bear, it is critically important to remain calm, experts from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations say. Panic and sudden movements can provoke an animal to attack. A predator may chase a fleeing person. Therefore, it is best not to attract the attention of the bear by carefully moving away in the opposite direction.

If the animal still noticed the person, you need to give him the opportunity to leave. It is important not to approach the bear, not to turn your back to it and not to look directly into the eyes. At the same time, as specified in the Ministry of Emergency Situations, you can talk to the animal and even create noise, if necessary.

If a predator does attack, you need to try to protect yourself and contact the emergency services as soon as possible so that competent specialists can organize a search for a dangerous animal.