Spate of Deadly Bear Attacks in Russia Has Left 35 People Dead

Bear attacks have killed 35 people across Russia since spring, according to state news agency RIA Novosti. The sharp rise in deaths has renewed attention to growing bear numbers and difficulties managing them.

The toll rose from 22 in early October, with the latest reported victim a security guard at a holiday camp in Kamchatka. Russia’s brown bear population has more than doubled in three decades to 308,000; officials and experts have cited milder winters, fewer hunters, poor harvests and forest fires among possible factors. A zoologist said Russia is using about 27% of its permitted bear cull.