Police officers, who since late December 2015 have been investigating an animal abuse case involving a female polar bear on Wrangel Island, have still been unable to examine the incident site due to the lack of regular transport service to the island, a spokesman for the Internal Affairs Ministry Department in the Chukotka Autonomous Area said.

A video of the incident shows the bear, an animal listed in the Russian Red Data Book, being fed explosives hidden in food, which has caused a public uproar. The Rusalyans company, whose employee was involved in the incident, said it is looking for the people who made and commented on the video. The company claimed there was no malicious intent, as the construction workers were simply trying to scare off the bear. Environmentalists have a different opinion.

In late December 2015, police opened a criminal case on animal abuse charges. Activists have collected several hundred signatures demanding that the perpetrator be given a custodial sentence.