Siberian Bear Attacks Kill 22; Hunters Cull Bears

Russian authorities and local hunters are stepping up efforts to control brown bears after a rise in incursions and deadly attacks, including the deaths of two women near Podtesovo. At least 22 people have reportedly been killed in bear attacks since spring, while the country’s brown bear population has more than doubled in three decades to about 308,000. Experts cite milder winters and a dry spring that reduced food supplies, along with exposed household waste and ignored safety rules, as factors drawing bears into communities. The government is preparing emergency population-control measures, and investigators in Krasnoyarsk are examining whether local officials failed to manage bear numbers.