Russian weather scientists in a remote Arctic area are surrounded by five hungry polar bears and essentially trapped inside their research station, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
Two meteorologists and a mechanic have been unable to leave the Fyodorov weather station on Vaygach Island, and cannot take their twice-daily sea measurements, due to the polar bears lurking nearby.
"Yesterday we came out and a bear was near the house," one meteorologist said, according to Siberian Times. "Three times our engineer fired a small flare pistol and the bear was not even scared. We managed to scare it off with a flare, but not far."
"They sleep near the houses. Two of them walk together," the meteorologist said. "They are aggressive. Recently they fought together near our house."
The team is armed only with flares and rubber bullets, according to WWF.
"This is an emergency," District Governor Igor Koshin told RIA Novosti, the state-run news agency. He said he would be sending help, but added the bears would not be killed.
The scientists have been trapped since last week in the small research station, which has no fencing:
Russian officials say the bears are drawn to residential places because, with no trash pickup in those remote areas, there's usually a pile of garbage to ransack.
"This is especially true of garbage with food remains," Koshin told RIA.
Last year, a bear was relocated nearly 25 miles from an oil operation, but still came back, he said.
Melting sea ice due to climate change has threatened the polar bears and their habitat, and their population is considered "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation's Red List.
"Substantial sea ice loss and expected declines in the availability of marine prey that polar bears eat are the most important specific reasons for the increasingly worse outlook for polar bear populations," Todd Atwood, USGS research biologist and lead author of a study on the bears, said in July, according to Reuters.
Why Bears Are Awesome
They'll take your photo(01 of09)
Open Image ModalPhotographer Bert Hardy's son, Mike Hardy, being photographed by Ming the panda at London Zoo in 1939. (credit:Getty)
They'll ride bumper cars with you(02 of09)
Open Image ModalTwo dodgem car passengers are surprised to see Susie the circus bear bumping into them at the fun fair attached to Bertram Mills Circus in Olympia, London. (credit:Getty)
They'll go skinny dipping with you(03 of09)
Open Image ModalAll right, let's get this party started. (circa 1940) (credit:Getty)
They help the environment(04 of09)
Open Image ModalLet's see what we've got here. Any salmon? (credit:Getty.)
They're super classy(05 of09)
Open Image ModalTwo sophisticated brown bears riding on a bicycle and side car in 1928. (credit:Getty)
They'll teach you how to ice-skate(06 of09)
Open Image ModalMost premium ice-skating bear in all of Russia... A Russian skater being pulled along by a bear on a frozen river around 1925. (credit:Getty)
They drink together(07 of09)
Open Image ModalThree black bears sit in a circle and drink from glass bottles, Indian Head, New Hampshire, early 20th Century. (credit:Getty)
They'll drink with you(08 of09)
Open Image ModalBear chugging something good in Paris, 1930. (credit:Getty)
They've just got personality(09 of09)
Open Image ModalTrained bear named Rosie rehearsing for a radio program (credit:Getty)
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