The SiberianA hungry polar bear who found herself lost in Siberia has been taken to a zoo for treatment.
The two-year-old female polar bear was spotted after she wandered into a northern Russian city hundreds of miles from her Arctic habitat.
She was so famished she nearly died after being forced to feed on a rubbish heap in Norilsk, before she was taken to a zoo in Kransnoyarsk for treatment, oil company Rosneft which is based in the area, said in a statement.
The company was involved in the move by helping translate the bear from Norilsk to Krasnoyarsk.
It said:
The bear is receiving all necessary treatment and healthy food.
Polar bears are increasingly being forced to scavenge for food as a result of climate changing their sea-ice habitats, bringing them into contact with humans more frequently.
Norilsk, Russia
A stray polar bear is seen in the Siberian industrial city
Photo: Stringer pic.twitter.com/ZTHTum5aTU— ÓDúláinne (@ODulainne) June 19, 2019
It’s not exactly known how the young polar bear had ended up in Norilsk, however a local wildlife expert who saw the animal, Oleg Krashevsky, said it was possible she had just gotten lost. He said the bear’s eyes were watery and that evidently it could not see well.
He got up close to the animal and filmed her scavenging for food, while her feet were caked in mud and she was visibly weak.
Local environmentalists have said the unusual sight marks the first time a polar bear has been seen in the city in more than 40 years, The Guardian report. The bear is believed to have walked 1,500 kilometres from the islands in Kara Sea.
At first it was unknown whether the bear would be relocated to the shore or taken in by a zoo
Unfortunately, the polar bear’s future is now unknown as Krashevsky says she looked too weak to be taken back to her natural habitat.
Let’s hope the poorly bear is given the appropriate care she needs to get back to full health.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.