Overview
- Krasnoyarsk prosecutors opened a criminal negligence investigation Wednesday after at least six people were killed in bear attacks in the region over about a month.
- Russian agencies and media estimate as many as 17 deaths in recent months across Siberia and the Far East, with incidents reported in Krasnoyarsk, Tomsk, Irkutsk, Buryatia, Altai, Kamchatka and Khabarovsk.
- Local authorities have imposed heightened-alert regimes, curfews in towns such as Baikalsk, declared Abaza effectively surrounded by bears, and closed tourist routes to reduce risk to residents and visitors.
- Officials report more than 530 bears deemed aggressive have been killed since spring, a large-scale response that follows public alarm even as the national Natural Resources Ministry says annual bear-attack deaths remain about 20 to 30 a year.
- Experts and officials point to ecological drivers — a brown bear population near 308,000 in 2026, poor pine nut harvests, forest fires and autumn hyperphagia — raising questions about wildlife management and the practical effects on communities and local officials' accountability.