VLADIVOSTOK, August 17. /TASS/. The police have shot dead a roaming bear when it entered an area adjacent to a kindergarten in the Russian Far East, local authorities told TASS on Wednesday.
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The incident occurred in a small hamlet called Gorniye Klyuchi in the Kirovsky district on Tuesday. Police officers and members of the regional hunting department immediately arrived on the scene. The kindergarten staff were warned of the life-threatening situation that was in progress.
"Surprisingly, the bear rose on its hind legs and began approaching the police officers at the distance of about 10 meters. After that they decided to neutralize it," the regional administration’s hunting department said.
A black bear roughly 6 or 7 years of age was spotted near the village several days ago. The animal was scouring around a local garbage dump for food and often approached houses.
Experts warned that this could be either an ill or a wounded animal as there were enough berries and mushrooms in the forest during the summer season. A team from the hunting department and police had visited the scene before and managed to chase the bear away to the forest. However, the predator came back.
Last year, many hungry bears were seen roaming by villages in Primorye practically on a daily basis. There were over 40 reports of bears prowling around local homes, in one incident an individual was killed and in other cases 10 were injured.