It’s unclear whether the lettering was a practical joke or a sign of escalating frustration from some Arctic-dwelling Russians who have described a “mass invasion” of polar bear interlopers pushed into human settlements by climate change. He won’t be able to hunt without being noticed!”Other experts have agreed, saying the polar bear may now have trouble blending into its surroundings and the markings could be a giveaway to the potential prey it tracks through snow and ice. In February, officials in the Arkhangelsk region, where the archipelago is located, declared a state of emergency after at least 52 polar bears swarmed a town of roughly 2,000. ADThe International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that there are 22,000 to 31,000 polar bears worldwide, a number increasingly threatened by climate change-caused destruction of their sea ice habitat. One asks, “Why is it so dirty?”“A spotty bear?” the other replies, according to a translation by the Siberian Times.

Source: Washington Post December 04, 2019 01:30 UTC