Russian Polar Bear Patrol with WWF
WWF charity officials have been working with remote communities near the Arctic to protect not just local the people, but also the polar bears themselves from potential conflict. Due to global warming, more and more polar bears are coming into areas inhabited by humans, such as the Chukotka region in northeast Russia.
As you can imagine, finding a polar bear wandering around near your home would be pretty startling, especially if you have children, so measures are now being taken to ensure there is no human conflict with the animals. A few years back a polar bear killed a young girl in the local village of Riyrkaipiy, so WWF teamed up with the regions hunters to create the ‘Umky Patrol’ to try and keep polar bears and humans apart.
Due to global warming sea ice is melting, which is pushing the polar bears further in land during the summer and causing confrontations. The polar bears also head closer to human settlements due to the amount of walruses and whale carcasses that are nearby, making the Umky Patrol’s first task is to ensure these are not left lying around.
They have now improved the lighting around local villages to ensure the children are safe whilst walking to school, which most of the time in the dark. Bears sometimes shelter in disused buildings, so these are being knocked down, whilst villagers are being more educated about bear behaviour and what to do if they are confronted by these big animals.
A patroller from the town of Vankarem, Sergey Kavriy, said –
It is very important to inform the villagers. There is much to learn from our experiences and recommendations.T he situation has changed greatly in our village since we started the patrol.
Here’s wishing the Umky Patrol every success in helping to protect the people and polar bears of Northeast Russia. WWF work within communities across the globe to help stop avoidable cases of conflict, and if you would like to help them, why not adopt a polar bear through our dedicated charity page? Here you can find out more about these beautiful creatures, and how together we can help save them from extinction.