A family of around 10 polar bears, including at least two small cubs, recently surrounded a garbage truck in Siberia, climbing on top of the truck to feed on scraps, reported Russian media earlier this week.
“Look what’s going on, the bears are hungry, now the fourth one is climbing inside”
Man filming the encounter can be heard saying in Russian (translated by The Siberian Times)
One adult-sized bear even stands up against the windshield, coming face to face with the driver. In typical Russian fashion, the driver appears unfazed and simply makes a phone call, according to The Moscow Times.
It is unclear how the driver got into the situation. It is likely that the bears were attracted by the smell of food scraps from the truck. It is not known how the encounter ended.
Climate Change has destroyed polar bears’ habitat
Encounters like these are becoming increasingly common in Russia’s Arctic as climate change has melted the sea ice on which polar bears hunt, depriving these predators of their usual hunting grounds and forcing them to come into closer contact with humans in search of food.
This has led to danger for both polar bears and humans. Officials in a remote part of Russia declared a state of emergency last year after over 50 polar bears entered a town in search of food.
Watch footage of the polar bears surrounding the truck here:
Header image: The Siberian Times
