MOSCOW, October 22 (RIA Novosti) – Police had to be called out after a brown bear and its cub were spotted wandering about near a sports stadium in Russia’s Far East, local officials said Tuesday.
Bear activity near residential areas in the remote Kamchatka Peninsula has spiked recently in a trend that authorities are worried is putting people’s lives at risk.
The pair was seen at around 10:30 p.m. local time on Monday at the Spartak stadium in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The local Interior Ministry department said there were no people at the stadium at the time.
Police, who went to the stadium in a patrol vehicle, blew their horn to scare away the bears. The animals retreated to a nearby hill, about one kilometer from the Kamchatka local government building, the statement said.
There has been a marked rise in bear activity on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Fifteen animals had to be shot dead in the Kamchatka Volcanoes national park between May and October for posing a threat to people, according to the park’s press service.