The lone bear has travelled south in a journey that has amazed experts and is now living among people who say they are too frightened to go outside because it is ‘aggressive’
An 'aggressive' polar put a village under siege with many locals too scared to go outside – and they're not allowed to kill it.
The huge animal, who accidentally ended up in a village hundreds of miles away from its natural habitat, threatened terrified homeowners who tried to chase it away.
The lone bear had been travelling south in Siberia on an odyssey that has amazed experts.
It somehow ended up 675 miles away on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, arriving at the coal-mining village of Dzhebariki-Khaya in Russia.
The bear has survived by stealing dog food. Rangers have attempted to catch it but have so far failed.
Residents are too scared to go outside and guards with guns have had to be put on duty to protect the villagers.
One local who filmed the animal, said: "Here it is…. damned amazing…somehow it’s scary to go to work.”
Another who found the bear sleeping next to her house, added: "Look, the beast came to our yard and lies down.
“It ate the dog's food and just brazenly lies here.”
In the footage the bear, looking emaciated and confused after travelling so far south where there is no snow, appeared aggressive and threatened the villagers who tried to chase it away from their homes.
Sergey Krepushin, head of the village’s administration, told Yakutia Daily: ”It is now on the outskirts of the village.
“We drove it 120 metres (400 ft) from a residential building. “We have been holding it back for about six hours.
“It became aggressive, rushes towards us, and growls. We don't know what to do.
“The polar bear is an animal listed in the Red Book, so it cannot be killed.”
Regional wildlife rangers have been attempting to catch the bear for weeks, but so far haven’t managed to.
“The decision on its further fate will be made by the republican authorities in Yakutia together with the Russian government,” Krepushin explained.
“There are no environmental inspectors in the village. Now three hunters with guns are on guard duty, including myself.
“We are simply trying not to let the bear into the village.”
Another video shows locals with dogs trying to hold the bear back.
The bear remained under close guard as the villagers waited for wildlife rangers sent by helicopter from regional capital Yakutsk to arrive.
The beast – believed to be around three or four years old – crossed the Arctic Circle heading south on its remarkable journey into the territory of the brown bear.
The last sighting of the animal was when it crept up on fisherman Andrey Rybakov, 41, on the banks of the Khandyga River, almost two weeks ago.
It tried to steal his catch as the angler rushed into his Toyota Land Cruiser to take refuge.
In late March the predator was spotted running in the wrong direction on a road, near Batagai, already 300 miles from the coast.
It is highly unusual for bears to move even a short distance south from the Arctic coast where they have a plentiful supply of food.
Locals cannot remember seeing a polar bear so far south.
In 2019 a polar bear was spotted further south in Russia’s Kamchatka region after floating on an ice floe.
But the bear in Dzhebariki-Khaya village has come all this way on foot on a journey probably taking at least three months.
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