A spokesperson has claimed that climate change and a reduction in sea ice is responsible for the unusually aggressive behavior of a group of 10 polar bears that besieged a group of Russian scientists.
Russian scientists trapped in Arctic by polar bears face month-long wait for rescue https://t.co/FXEJ9fbyuT
— The Guardian (@guardian) September 14, 2016
https://twitter.com/Melvin_Udall_/status/775929647456407553
NPR on Wednesday picked up on a report by Russian news agency TASS, which told of the rescue of five scientists whose weather station was surrounded by polar bears, including a female that had become used to spending nights beneath the research station’s windows.
A ship that was passing by was able to dispatch a helicopter and deliver flares and dogs to help the researchers scare off the bears.
5 researchers at a remote Arctic weather station were "besieged" by polar bears over the weekend, TASS reports. https://t.co/Q70zYnibHb
— NPR (@NPR) September 14, 2016
Two weeks ago, a polar bear ate one of the weather station's 2 dogs & hadn't left the station since.
— NPR (@NPR) September 14, 2016
The station's stockpile of flares had run out. Polar bear hunting is illegal in Russia, so shooting the bears wasn't an option.
— NPR (@NPR) September 14, 2016
A passing Russian research ship was able to stop at the island to help. https://t.co/Q70zYnibHb
— NPR (@NPR) September 14, 2016
It was able to deliver "three puppies and pyrotechnical devices" to the beleaguered weather station, TASS reports. https://t.co/Q70zYnibHb
— NPR (@NPR) September 14, 2016
Blame climate change for causing the Arctic ice to recede unusually quickly, trapping the bears near the researchers.
The bears' behavior was called unusual & related to the reduction in sea ice; the bears were trapped & had no food. https://t.co/Q70zYnibHb
— NPR (@NPR) September 14, 2016
not "unusual" stop it. Polar bears literally hunt humans.
— S Trammell ⭐⭐⭐ (@STrammell302) September 14, 2016
Umm… polar bears can swim hundreds of miles at a go. Weren't "trapped" unless someone had them in a cage. #GlobalWarmingShills
— USAunderground (@USAunderground) September 14, 2016
Just make friends and give it some food
— Mark Ridgley (@zogman64) September 14, 2016
Despite the dramatic account of the rescue — “Five people. Ten bears. One desperate call for help.” — the head of the network that owns the research station noted that the bears probably would have left the area for other hunting grounds by the end of October or early November, anyway.
Now that they’re armed with flares to chase away the indigenous wildlife, the scientists are free again to resume their studies and perhaps learn more about the impact of humans on nature.
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