Polar bear leaps onto a Russian nuclear submarine on the search for food after the crew dumped bags of rubbish into the Arctic
- Inquisitive polar bear was spotted stepping onto the Delta IV class submarine and looking around for food
- Submarine is thought to have been patrolling north of the Norwegian islands of Svalbard and Jan Mayen
- Pictures show the animal sitting on the ice looking at the huge sub before carefully stepping onto the deck
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An Inquisitive polar bear has been pictured stepping from the ice onto a Russian nuclear submarine while searching for food in the Arctic.
The Delta IV class sub is thought to have been north of the Norwegian islands of Svalbard and Jan Mayen when its crew decided to surface to get rid of bags of rubbish.
All 120 sailors on board were told to stay below deck while the 65stone bear had a sniff around their vessel, reports the Sunday Express.
Pictures taken from above the deck shows the lone polar bear sitting close to the submarine before it starts to cross the thick ice and leans in to get a closer look before steeping on.
A lone polar bear sits on the ice looking at the Russian Delta IV class submarine that is thought to have been patrolling north of the Norwegian islands of Svalbard and Jan Mayen
The bear puts its head forward first to take a closer look at the sub which has broken through the ice to dump rubbish
Norway and Russia share a population of around 3,000 polar bears but litter is threatening the region and the wildlife in it.
Experts say Russia’s pollution in the Arctic would take hundreds of years to clean up and this isn’t the first time sailor’s have attracted unwanted attention from polar bears while dumping rubbish.
A Royal Navy source told the Sunday Express: ‘We stick completely to maritime law and have systems in place to sort, recycle and dispose of rubbish in an environmentally friendly way.’
The Norwegian island of Spitsbergen is the only permanently populated area in the Svalbard area but polar bears can be spotted in the entire area.
Polar bears are found in five nations across the Arctic in the U.S. at Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland, and Norway at Svalbard.
The 65stone bear stretches onto the 167m long submarine and looks at something on the deck leaving one paw on the ice
After exploring the deck the polar bear swims away and pulls back up onto some ice in the waters north of Norway’s islands
Polar bears depend on the high-fat content in seal fat to maintain their diet. The bears prey on both ringed and bearded seals, but will eat other prey if they have too, reports Polar Bears International.
The Delta IV submarines are strategic nuclear missile submarines, 167m long and can carry up to 18 missiles or torpedoes, reports Naval Technology.
In October 2018 polar bears were filmed chasing terrified residents down the streets in the remote Russian town, Dikson.
It is thought that the animals came to the town to find food and police were not allowed by law to shoot to kill unless a predator attacks a human, directly endangering life.