Brave villagers armed with nothing more than flare guns have been attempting to drive away more than 60 polar bears that have descended on a Russian town.
Extraordinary video shows three men accompanied by a digger firing flares at a group of eight bears close to the village of Ryrkaypiy, in far eastern Russia, amid fears they may try and eat some of the 766 villagers.
At least 63 bears have descended on the village to feast on seal carcasses after mild weather prevented sea ice from freezing, meaning they cannot hunt for fish as they usually would at this time of year.
Three brave villagers in far eastern Russia used flare guns in an attempt to drive away some of the 63 polar bears that have descended on their town
Drone footage shows the group of men advancing on the bears before firing brightly-lit projectiles at them, though some of the animals appear less-than impressed
Villages have also dragged a seal carcass on which the bears were feeding further away from their village, amid fears the bears could attack humans
Rangers have stepped up efforts to frighten the pack of bears by shooting flares – but the move is being strongly criticised.
Patrollers insist the action is needed to keep the villagers in Chukotka region safe from the hungry predators that could ‘wound or eat humans’.
Some of the 63 animals counted in the vicinity have already attempted to get into residential areas of the Arctic village, say locals.
The flares were used less than 500 ft from the nearest house in temperatures of 14F (-10C).
One of the team Maksim Deminov – who filmed the video – said: ‘The bear patrol is scaring polar bears away from the outskirts of the village and is moving a seal’s carcass to safer distance towards Cape Kozhevnikov.’
But some of the bears seemed less-than frightened by the flares.
Patrollers used a bulldozer to move the seal carcass on which the bears were feasting.
But after posting the video he was hit by worried comments – despite Ryrkaypiy being in virtual lockdown from the bear threat.
One said: ‘What if it fires right into a bear’s eye?
‘Might loud noises help to scare them?
Dozens of polar bears arrived at the village after unusually mild weather stopped sea ice from freezing, meaning they cannot hunt fish as they usually do at this time of year
It is the second year in a row that the bears have arrived at Ryrkaypiy, though they have never appeared in such large numbers before
‘It seems to a city person that if a bear is fighting for its food with a bulldozer it must mean it is really, really hungry.’
Russian polar bear expert Anatoly Kochnev warned that the animals would rapidly get used to the flares and not flee, reported The Siberian Times.
‘Only the element of surprise helps,’ he said.
He warned Deminov: ‘You could have just pulled the seal to drag it away, but for some reason you opted for crowding around a bulldozer and shooting.’
But the ranger hit back: ‘When hungry, they can wound or eat a human.
‘There were a couple of incidents in the past before our patrol was formed.
‘We have already stopped a couple of their attempts to get inside the village.
‘We must be on duty constantly.
‘Other than that, of course, humans are not part of their diet.’
He insisted: ‘There is no harm caused by the flares.’
In the village on the Chukchi Sea all public events have been cancelled and children are given special protection going to and from school and kindergarten.
The flare guns were used less than 500ft from people’s homes, as villagers say they fear desperately hungry bears could attack people
The move has been criticised by some, who were afraid the bears could get injured or else would starve to death without access to food from the village
All public events in the village have been cancelled and children are being given special protection going to and from school until the bears leave
It is the second year in succession that the village has faced dozens of polar bears on its doorstep, but this year there are a record number.
‘Nearly all the polar bears are skinny,’ said Tatiana Minenko, head of the WWF Polar Bear Patrol in Ryrkaipiy.
‘There are adult bears, adolescents and mother bears with cubs of different ages.’
Rangers are using snow mobiles and vehicles to discourage the animals from coming closer to houses.
It is illegal in Russia to shoot polar bears but last year a patrol resorted to rubber bullets, according to reports.
Locals say that abnormally mild winter weather has led to the polar bear trespass due to the sea not freezing over despite subzero temperatures.
Instead of hunting for fish in deeper waters , the bears are eating seal carcasses left in autumn.
Last year army servicemen cleared the village’s shore of remains of dead seals on which the bears are feeding.
A former governor of remote Chukotka region was Roman Abramovich, the tycoon owner of Chelsea FC.