More Than 300 Bears Shot in Russia's Buryatia Region Over Safety Concerns

Authorities in Russia's Buryatia region have shot 331 bears that were deemed a threat to the life and safety of local residents, according to the region's wildlife protection service.

The agency said 81 specialists were involved in efforts to protect populated areas of the region from the animals. The scale of the cull reflects what officials described as an ongoing concern about bear encounters near human settlements in the region, located in Siberia near Lake Baikal.

Human-wildlife conflict involving bears has been a recurring issue in parts of Russia's Far East and Siberian regions, where expanding human activity and changing food availability for wildlife have at times been cited as contributing factors to increased encounters near towns and villages.

Officials did not detail the specific circumstances behind the reported encounters that prompted the cull, nor did they specify over what time period the 331 bears were killed. Regional wildlife services typically coordinate such operations in response to reports of bears approaching residential areas, livestock, or waste sites.

Conservation groups have in the past raised concerns about the scale of such culls and their impact on regional bear populations, though no such reaction was included in the agency's statement. It is not clear whether further measures are planned as the region continues to monitor bear activity near populated areas.