In Krasnoyarsk Krai, a bear killed the seventh person in a month — Asharq Al-Awsat

In the village of Voznesenka in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk Krai, a bear attacked a 51-year-old woman and fatally injured her in her own garden. This was the seventh death in the region as a result of bear attacks in September, Asharq Al-Awsat reports.

Attack in the garden

According to the Russian state agency TASS, the woman saw the bear as it was trying to enter an enclosure with domestic animals in her yard. The animal attacked her, and the victim’s neighbor shot the bear.

Investigators in Krasnoyarsk Krai of the Russian Federation, an aggressor state, released a video from the scene. It shows them examining the body of a brown bear in a wooded area. Earlier this month, those killed in attacks in the region included a 39-year-old logger and two women picking mushrooms.

Criminal case against the ministry

Investigators said they opened a criminal case against the local environmental ministry on Wednesday. In their version, possible negligence by officials may have led to the deaths of six people; after the attack in Voznesenka, the number of victims in the region in September reached seven.

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The investigation stated that the ministry and other responsible services were supposed to control the bear population and respond to predators appearing near populated areas. According to investigators, residents of more than 15 districts, as well as Krasnoyarsk, Zheleznogorsk and Zelenogorsk, submitted more than 120 reports of bears approaching settlement boundaries.

Lack of food and bear population

Experts cited by Russian media link bears appearing near people to an early and dry spring, which resulted in a shortage of berries in September. They also pointed to food waste left in the open and people’s failure to follow safety rules. According to the investigation, the brown bear population in Krasnoyarsk Krai increased 2.5-fold and exceeded 26,000 animals.

This year, bears have attacked people in at least 11 regions of Russia, and at least 20 people have died. Investigators advised residents not to visit forests and to postpone gathering mushrooms and berries.