Russian Bears Find Graveyards Snacks


In the absence of mushrooms and berries, Russian bears will turn to cadavers, reports The Guardian. Local officials have warned that a dearth of food caused by a parched summer has forced bears to scavenge in unusual places, including cemeteries. On Saturday in the village of Vezhnya Tchova, two women stumbled across a bear eating a corpse next to a grave, according to Russian newspaper reports. People living near the Arctic Circle have recently reported increases in the number of bears scavenging for scraps in Dumpsters and garden patches. The cemetery incident might come down to ursine resourcefulness as much as hunger, however. "You have to remember that bears are natural scavengers," said Masha Vorontsova of WWF Russia, who cited another example of bear grave robbers in the northern Karelia republic two years ago. "In Karelia one bear learned how to do it [open a coffin]. He then taught the others. They are pretty quick learners." The biggest threat to Russian bears is not a lack of fish and ants, say experts, but the presence of trophy hunters who can wipe out entire populations of large male bears.


The Guardian | Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010