Two female mushroom-pickers are mauled to death and buried by bears in Russian forest
Two mushroom-picking women, Galina Teterina, 73, and Zoya G, 67, have died after being mauled and buried by brown bears near Podtyosovo in Russia's Krasnoyarsk region, part of what officials are calling one of the worst summers on record for bear attacks in Siberia. The city of Krasnoyarsk has been placed on high alert, with authorities boosting patrols and monitoring, while students at a local university were ordered to stay in their dormitories due to a separate bear threat, and a bear was shot dead near a school.
The two women were picking mushrooms separately but were found buried just 16 feet apart; investigators believe Zoya was killed first, with Galina meeting the same fate hours later after arriving at the same spot. Officials attribute the surge in attacks to a shortage of pine nuts and berries caused by drought and wildfires, forcing hungry bears into populated areas. The Krasnoyarsk region alone is home to around 27,000 bears, and control officers have killed more than 120 "conflict" predators this year, more than double 2025's total. The incident follows another fatal attack in the Altai Mountains, where 29-year-old Snezhana Korolyova was dragged from her tent and killed by a bear during a camping trip, part of a wider pattern that has claimed at least eight lives this summer.
In short
- Two elderly mushroom-pickers mauled and buried by bears in Siberia
- Krasnoyarsk on high alert amid Russia's worst bear-attack summer on record
- Food shortages from drought and wildfires are driving bears into towns
Explained simply
In parts of Siberia, people go into forests to pick wild mushrooms, berries and nuts. Those forests are also home to brown bears, which usually forage for food away from people but can come close to settlements.
The Krasnoyarsk region has a large bear population, and officials say drought and wildfires have reduced some of the bears’ usual food, including berries and pine nuts. When food is scarce, bears may range nearer to towns and villages, increasing the chance of encounters with people.
Bear attacks have also been reported elsewhere in Siberia this summer, including in the Altai Mountains. The incidents matter to people who work or gather food in the forest, as well as to local authorities responsible for monitoring bears and responding to threats near populated areas.