Polar bear invasion on Novaya Zemlya as 50 wild animals besiege remote town and ‘chase people’

The influx of bears is worse than ‘fearful’ residents can recall at in the far-flying Arctic archipelago known as a Soviet nuclear test base. 

People are ‘afraid to go outside’ and ‘daily life is in turmoil’, said deputy head of the local administration, Aleksandr Minayev.

‘Parents are wary of letting children to go to schools and kindergartens,’ he made clear.

Yet one video shows a bear go inside an apartment block next to a fortunately empty pushchair. 

The invasion centres on town of Belushya Guba where 52 beasts have been counted.

Head of the local administration Zigansha Musin said: ‘I have been in Novaya Zemlya since 1983, yet I've never seen such a massive polar bear invasion.’

He warned: the animals are ‘literally chasing people and even entering the entrances of residential buildings’.

Shooting in the air, sounding car horns and erecting fences have all failed so far to quell the bar invasion.

Russian nature protection agency denied a request to shoot bears in order to scare the predators away.

However, a team of ‘specialists’ is now on the way to the stricken town. 

Not all locals are scared. 

One video shows a man walking nonchalantly past a roving bear close to several apartment blocks. 

However, there is a risk of attack and a danger that people could be mauled to death by bears. 

The deputy chief of the local administration says there have been attacks already.

From December 2018 to February 2019 there has been a large accumulation of polar bears around settlements,’ said Minayev. 

‘In the area of the settlement  Belushya Guba, 52 polar bears were spotted, entering the settlement. 

‘There are cases of aggressive behaviour of wild animals - attacks on people, penetration into residential and office buildings. 

‘In the village there are constantly from six to ten polar bears. 

‘Numerous oral and written statements are being received from residents as well as schools and kindergartens, demanding safety of their residence.’

Reports posted online speak of a ‘bear siege’ .

Former resident Anastasia Bondarenko said the bears are no longer scared of man and have become ‘insolent’.

She said: ‘There are no more enemies. That is  they became  insolent. This is scary. When they walk under your window at night, it is creepy.'

The town has a population of around 1,970.

It is the main permanent settlement on Novaya Zemlya. 

A large proportion of its population is made up of military personnel associated with the nuclear test sites located on the island.