Climate change blamed as polar bear wanders into city

A hungry and exhausted polar bear has been spotted wandering around and looking for food in Russia's northern city of Norilsk, hundreds of kilometers from its natural habitat. The last time a scene like this was witnessed over 40 years ago.

This polar bear's action was captured by a local wildlife expert, Oleg Krashevsky. He said the polar bear is quite young and possibly lost his mother. The polar bear was first spotted by a group of teenagers. Oleg raised the issue with local authorities. Experts from the state department of wildlife protection came to examine the bear's health.

This image taken from video released by @putoranatour/Oleg Krashevsky on Monday, June 17, 2019, shows a polar bear crossing a road in Norilsk, Russia. [Photo: AP]

Sea ice has been melting rapidly due to climate changes, so polar bears have to find food on land. In February, the remote Russian archipelago of Novaya Zemlaya declared a state of emergency as local authorities described an "invasion" by dozens of the hungry animals.