Tragic death of Sakhalin residents during an encounter with a clubfoot: lessons must be learned and conclusions drawn

The sculpture group "Three Deer", located on the outskirts of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk near the Korsakov highway, has been associated with weddings for many since the early 2000s and until recently. This place was once a mandatory stop on the routes for newlyweds. Participants in the ceremonies decorated deer antlers with ribbons, hung symbolic locks...

Now this happy picture is "blurred" - a tragedy has occurred near the sculpture group. Two people became victims of a bear attack... Operational measures were taken, the animal was eliminated. The regional investigative department reported: an autopsy of the animal showed that this is the predator involved in the death of the two men.

This was confirmed to Sovetsky Sakhalin by Kristina Manakova, the leading adviser to the department for the organization of the use of wildlife and the activities of specially protected natural areas of the regional forestry and hunting agency:

– On the morning of June 24, this individual was shot, specialists are conducting the necessary expert measures to determine the sex, age and other parameters, additional studies have been scheduled.

According to the agency, the situation with the bears is tense not only within the regional center, but throughout the region. The bears are currently in their mating season, which will last until the end of July – beginning of August. During this period, bears can be vicious, irritable and aggressive.

Are they hungry? Not all of them. Bears have a varied diet, from roots and grass to fish, so it is not only hunger that is the cause of aggressive behavior. About safety measures: the agency's website contains a lot of useful information, including an updated reminder on how to behave when encountering bears.

How many licenses are issued for shooting bears? Perhaps more should be issued? According to the agency, licenses are issued at the level of previous years. Out of 500 licenses, an average of 300 bears are shot annually. Within these limits, history repeats itself every year. As a result, the number of brown bears in the island region is maintained at an average level of about 4,500 individuals.

– The situation is not so critical that we need to invite additional hunters from other regions, especially from abroad, for example, from China. We have an operational group to regulate the population and our game managers, this is quite sufficient in our conditions, – says Kristina Manakova.

What will the experts say?

Here are some recent cases. On June 18, tracks similar to a bear's were noticed on the territory of "Gorny Vozdukh" in the regional center. They led towards the city. On June 23, in the middle of nowhere on the roller ski track near the "Santa" hotel, a clubfoot was noticed, which soon left the track and went into the forest. On the same day, a terrible story happened at "Tri Oleni"... A trend, however. And what to do about it?

Andrey Zdorikov, biologist and gamekeeper, head of the expert group of the regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society, chairman of the public council at the forestry and hunting agency of the Sakhalin region:

- I know the area at this point well, I go there in autumn to pick mushrooms. For some time now, homeless people and drug addicts have settled here, they even have their own clearing here with traces of "life activity"...

As for the bears' behavior, there is nothing surprising. Apparently, due to the warming climate in the spring, they left their dens earlier than usual. They fed on roots, then greenery appeared - they ate grass. But for a complete diet, and most importantly - to accumulate fat reserves for the winter, they need protein food. In Sakhalin conditions, this is primarily fish. Spawning rivers are blocked, the clubfooted ones used to always wait for the pink salmon to approach in the upper reaches, and feed there. And now they are forced to come closer to humans. Conflict situations inevitably arise.

Indeed, what to do with this? Exterminate every single bear? This is wrong, especially since the animal of federal status, like any other resource, is under strict control of the state.

Alaska and Hokkaido have similar problems. They solve them like this: bears that appear near humans are caught and transported away from civilization, and something like reservations are set up for them. Maybe we can use such methods in our case?

Chief forester of the Korsakov forestry Sergei Gradov:

– In the Korsakovsky district, thank God, it hasn’t reached cannibalism, but over the last three weeks, 13 cases of bears approaching people have been registered: near the camp in Prigorodny, in other places. The animals don’t enter the villages, but they hang around nearby. We register all the cases, go to the site, and examine them…

The bears woke up earlier than usual, waiting for the fish to come. Active economic activity – people are laying gas, extending power lines to the Far East hectares, plus extreme sports enthusiasts on motorcycles and ATVs are climbing into the most bear-infested corners – all this contributes to the migration of animals. The stronger and more cautious ones go further into the forest, displacing the weaker ones closer to people.

I think that moving bears to places far from civilization, like in Alaska, will not work in our conditions. Sakhalin is 1000 km long and at its widest point, 200 km at most. Where could such a reservation be formed? Besides, there is a settlement every 30-50 km, and fishing camps are everywhere…

Put an end to the bear population? It is impossible. There is an established ecosystem, if one link is removed, everything will fall apart. Let's remove the bear - we have no other large predators, expect an ecological catastrophe. At one time, sparrows were exterminated in China, and then they had to be imported.

In the tragic incident in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, I believe the animal could have been provoked.

We, foresters, when we go into the forest, always talk loudly, warn of our approach. And if you disturb an animal while it is feeding, it perceives the stranger as a competitor for its food. I do not exclude that in the case of "Three Deer" there was a she-bear nearby, and a person in an inadequate state decided to play with the bear cub, and that is what provoked the aggression...

With the start of the salmon run, it seems that the situation will change for the better, but the problem itself will remain and will again remind us of itself next season.

Deputy of the Sakhalin Regional Duma, member of the committees on ecology and nature management and on social policy Mikhail Cherevik:

– I am working on this topic, there are heated discussions in the groups. In April, there was a meeting of the specialized committee on the “bear” issue. We discussed many issues, including RUZs on rivers, spontaneous dumps and conflict prevention measures.…

Meanwhile, the trend cannot but be alarming. Last year, one case of a person dying from a bear was registered, this year - already two. People are encroaching further and further into nature, and the bear, for various reasons, is pressing close to people, to garbage dumps, summer cottages, vegetable gardens. And it looks like things will not get any easier, the process is developing on the rise.

There are various proposals for solving the problem. But not everyone takes into account that our specialized services are poorly equipped, they have, say, one ATV for every 20 people, and you can count the number of drones on the fingers of one hand. Therefore, comparing the capabilities of our foresters with services abroad - in Alaska or Hokkaido - is incorrect. The only way out is to use radical measures.

In essence, I see several important aspects of the problem. We have no more professional bear hunters. True, a professional needs to be raised. This is a problem that requires time to solve, because the previous mentoring institution is gone, and the system of cooperative animal industry farms is gone too... But there are still professionals who are not currently engaged in hunting. These people need to be interested. And how?

In our region, for example, the production of stuffed animals is not developed at all, there are no taxidermists. Some hunters sell skins to Khabarovsk. It is expensive and troublesome. Even representatives of the indigenous peoples of the North, who used to make stuffed animals, are now not interested. Development of the industry would help solve the problem.

Secondly, it is necessary to extend the spring hunting season by at least 20 days. After all, it is during this period that the clubfooted animals rut and mate, which means that the chances of having offspring will be reduced, at least a little.

Information work is important for preventing tragic cases. Municipalities should warn the population, people in the same SNT, about possible encounters with the clubfooted ones.

One of the recommendations developed at the April committee meeting concerned the installation of warning signs on popular tourist routes. Tour groups simply need to be armed with special horns with a sound signal, pepper spray, and other means to scare off bears.

Why not use a UAV? A drone can view the situation for many kilometers. Moreover, modern infrared cameras can see the animal even in the bushes.

Legal aspect

The Investigative Department for the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk of the regional investigative department of the Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case against officials of the control and prevention agencies regarding the death of two men in a bear attack. Under Part 3 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (negligence resulting in the death of two persons through negligence).

The regional prosecutor's office is conducting an inspection on its own, based on the results of which an assessment will be made of the authorized bodies in the field of forestry for compliance with the requirements of the legislation in the field of regulating the number of wild animals. If there are grounds, prosecutorial response measures will follow.

Nikolay PITERSKY.