Overview
- Prosecutors said Wednesday that at least six people were killed in bear attacks in Krasnoyarsk Region in the past month and that a criminal negligence probe targets local officials for failing to control predator numbers.
- TASS estimates put recent fatalities across Siberia and the Far East at 17 and reports that bears have approached populated areas in some 41 regions during 2026.
- Regional authorities have imposed heightened-alert regimes, curfews and closures in places including Abaza, Irkutsk and Baikalsk while emergency services and wildlife agencies respond to active incidents.
- Officials point to ecological drivers — notably widespread forest fires and a poor pine nut harvest that reduced natural food for bears — and authorities say hundreds of aggressive animals have been killed since spring.
- The crisis highlights long-term population growth — Russia’s natural resources ministry says brown bears rose to nearly 308,000 since 1990 — and raises questions about regional wildlife management, public safety and resource priorities.