Residents of Russian settlements in the country’s North have had to learn of late how to co-exist safely with polar bears. Predators have started to wander into towns and villages looking for food more often. To keep them away, environmentalists organise polar bear patrols.

Every year sea ice recedes towards the coast and the polar bears have fewer chances of getting back on the ice. That is why they remain on the coast, dangerously close to settlements and deposits where people work. As a result, conflicts occur every now and then.

Polar bears are not used to being afraid of anybody, humans included.   

“Polar bears are interesting animals – they are inquisitive,” says Ilya Mordvintsev, a leading researcher with the Institute of Environmental Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences. “When they encounter humans, they often don’t know how to behave.”

Experts say that people must not give food to predators, leave food uncovered or throw away food waste; otherwise polar bears will start seeing people as a source of food.

“Sooner or later, a situation like this starts to interfere with people’s work as they cannot cope with the animal,” Mordvintsev says. “Polar bears more often than people fall victim to this conflict: it is announced that the bears are posing a problem, and they are often hunted and shot.”  

To prevent this scenario, settlements are patrolled by polar bear squads. Members of the squads explain to residents how they can co-exist with the king of the Arctic and also help them drive animals away from populated areas.

A well-considered approach like this allows local people to minimise the number of conflicts between them and the polar bears.

“Today, the situation is changing for the better, with more parties taking interest in studying and preserving the polar bear,” Mordvintsev says.