Russia.. Deadly Attacks from Bears Cause Panic in Siberia.. What Do We Know?

- When "Sofa" (28 years old) received a video showing a bear in the yard of her former home in central Siberia, it caught her attention greatly; the danger posed by these animals seemed distant before. She told the Afaq News network: "We never feared going out, even at night," noting that the idea of a bear entering the yard was something she "couldn't even imagine."

This unexpected sighting comes at a time when bear attacks are increasing; at least 16 fatal encounters have been recorded across Russia during September, according to a count conducted by Afaq News based on reports from Russian media. Last week, a bear attacked a 51-year-old woman and killed her as she was leaving her home in that area.

Two days prior, a security guard was killed in an attack by a bear in a truck parking lot located within a forest area. Earlier in September, two elderly women - who had gone missing separately while foraging for mushrooms - were found dead, with their bodies showing injuries consistent with bear attacks.

Fatal incidents have also been recorded in other Siberian regions; in the neighboring "Tuva" region, the father of Russian National Hockey League (NHL) player Andrei Kuzmenko was killed in late September after being attacked by a bear during a hunting trip. The man was taken to the hospital with serious facial injuries, but he died shortly thereafter, according to the TASS news agency.

In August, in the famous tourist region of "Altai" in southern Siberia, a bear tore through a tent and dragged a 29-year-old woman into the forest, killing her. The Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment stated to the official news agency TASS that the country typically records between 20 to 30 attacks on humans annually.

The agency reported that bears have intruded this year into populated areas in more than 40 Russian regions; however, the vast "Krasnoyarsk" region in central Siberia recorded the highest death toll, with seven people losing their lives.