In recent years, the habitats of humans and polar bears have begun to overlap. As people expand their presence in the Arctic region, polar bears wander into coastal settlements in search of food with increasing frequency.

However, Ilya Mordvintsev, a leading researcher of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that it has long been known that polar bears go to the islands in the Arctic seas and on coastal mainland areas in various seasons of the year. He said that it has nothing to do with climate change or the state of the ice cover.

“It should just be noted that the number of encounters has increased in recent years since bears have been forced to stay on the coast during the summer ice-free period and the human presence in the Arctic region has been growing,” the expert said.

At the same time, there is no need to talk about polar bears migrating south as a threat, he said.

“Land is one of bears’ habitats, and in addition, female bears mostly lie in dens ashore to have their cubs,” Ilya Mordvintsev said in conclusion.