About 50 polar bears which had come together near the Ryrkaypy village in the Chukotka Autonomous Area in November have left the region, heading for the shore to hunt on ice, said Viktor Nikiforov, head of WWF Russia Bear Patrol project. “Our team patrolled the Ryrkaypy village this morning and confirmed that the polar bears had left the vicinity of this remote community on the coast of the Chukchi Sea. The bears remained nearby for more than two weeks and sometimes actually ventured into the village, but despite this challenging situation, we managed to prevent direct contact from occurring between humans and these predators,” he said.

According to Nikiforov, members of the Bear Patrol stood watch round-the-clock to keep the situation under control and took timely initiatives to get the polar bears to leave the village. The animals were attracted by the remains of two gray whales that had been washed ashore several kilometres west of Ryrkaypy. The team did its outmost to ensure the safety of both humans and the bears and to prevent them from running into each other. The last time such a large group of polar bears was seen in Chukotka was in the fall of 2006.