Bear insomnia, go harass people

The weather was so warm that it could not hibernate, the bears in southern Siberia hung around the forests and threatened people.

(Photo: fresnochaffeezoo) Wanting to survive the cold months in Siberia, bears often have to hibernate, starting in November 11 and lasting for 6 months. However, at this time of year, the city of Kemerovo - 3,500 km from Moscow - still has no snow. The unusually warm weather makes the bears unable to hibernate.

" Because of the weather, bears do not go to hibernation on time, " said Tatiana Maslova, an expert at the environmental agency in Kemerovo. " We are looking for ways to ensure that crops and people are not damaged ."

Every corner of the city is being carefully guarded.

In order to live through the winter, bears have to accumulate more body fat - about 180kg - from many months ago. " By now, their bodies have enough energy so they probably won't cause any catastrophe ," Maslova said.

She said it was the bird and hare hunters at the time that were most likely to be attacked. " We have many observers to prevent that from happening, " she said.

HN