Polar bears are affected by global warming with melting Arctic ice forcing them to spend more time on land where they compete for food. The head of the local administration Zhigansha Musin said that the numbers of polar bears were unprecedented. "I've been on Novaya Zemlya since 1983 and there's never been such a mass invasion of polar bears," he told regional officials. Local officials complained that measures to scare off polar bears such as vehicle and dog patrols have not been effective as polar bears feel secure and no longer react. In January, a defence ministry official said that hundreds of disused military buildings had been demolished on Novaya Zemlya because polar bears were settling inside them.

Source: The Nation Bangkok February 09, 2019 11:48 UTC