A team of Russian weather experts claim that their station on an ice-covered Arctic isle is “besieged” by polar bears, according to a report by Russian news agency TASS. A female polar bear spends nights perched outside the station’s windows, making it dangerous for the scientists to exit. The presence of the polar bears has made carrying out meteorological observations difficult, reports TASS. Five hungry polar bears circled a Russian weather station on Vaygach island in Russia’s far north, preventing its staff from taking sea readings. Melting sea ice and shifting patterns in the populations of the polar bears’ marine prey stoke the desperation of bears, which are being forced to travel farther for food.

Source: National Post September 14, 2016 12:33 UTC