Number of Bear Sightings Rises

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: August 29, 2012 (Issue # 1724)

Wild bears have been encountered in the Leningrad Oblast with increasing frequency by people picking berries and mushrooms recently, 47News Internet portal reported last week.

People walking in forests have reported seeing bears in the Gatchina, Luga and Lomonosov districts.

Igor Prokhorov, head of the Leningrad Oblast’s Safety, Control and Regulation of Wild Nature Committee, said there are currently about 2,000 bears registered in Leningrad Oblast.

“It’s not too many for a territory of seven million hectares, but people should still be careful,” Prokhorov said.

Prokhorov said encounters with bears during the summer months are not overly dangerous, because bears have enough food around them. The most dangerous situation is coming across a female bear with a bear cub. Anyone who sees a bear cub is advised to leave the area immediately. Experts also advise people not to run away at high speed if they encounter a bear, but to leave slowly, preferably without turning their back to the animal, Prokhorov was cited as saying by 47News.

“It is quite rare for people to come across bears,” he said. “The animals shy away from people themselves. Bears rarely come close to residential areas, only if there are not enough berries in the forests. This year the berry harvest is quite bountiful, so there is no reason to worry,” Prokhorov added.