Polar Bear
© Yaroslav Nikitin

Polar Bear Patrol to hold Spring Trail expedition

On March 30, the WWF-initiated annual polar bear preservation expedition, Spring Trail, will start in Russia's Arctic zone regions. During the expedition, patrols will monitor the spring distribution of polar bears on the coast and the location of their family dens, the Arctic-Info agency reported.

In late March, when female bears and their cubs usually leave their family dens, they are especially vulnerable and can become easy prey for poachers.
"In 11 months, we recorded four poaching incidents on Vaygach Island alone," head of WWF Russia's Bear Patrol program Viktor Nikiforov said.

This year, the first patrol started its work in the Arctic zone in Yakutia, where a group examined the East Siberian Sea coast to the west of the Indigirka River. "Throughout April, information will come in from many villages and polar meteorological stations. On April 4, a two-week expedition will start from the village of Chersky to the Medvezhyi Islands archipelago, where we will make efforts to post the information online," Nikiforov said.