Expectant mothers face unexpected surprise as brown bear checks out a maternity hospital

The visitor was filmed by duty gynaecologist Oleg Senotrusov from the window of Neryungri Central District Delivery Hospital, as staff bolted the doors as a precaution. What is it about storks bringing babies?

The bear sniffed the clinic's garbage dump before doing his own bit of stalking, all around the maternity hospital building evidently hungry and in search of food, as worried staff and patients looked on. 

The mining town of Neryungri is the second largest in the Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia, the largest region in Russia. 

'The bear didn't hurt anyone nor damage anything, but its visit brought a lot of worries to expectant mothers and staff,' said one report. 

With the hospital located in the forest, it is perhaps not surprising that bears occasionally emerge from the taiga. The creatures have been spotted, too, in dacha settlements and around children's camps, say reports. 

'People living in (nearby) Serebryanyi Bor village earlier this year reported seeing two bear cubs coming very close to people,' said one.

'The bear's visit is linked to the fact that the maternity hospital is built in the forest,' a local emergency telephone number operator.

'The area is close to the taiga, so bears do tend to get close to settlements, but normally don't walk the streets'.