Natural Resources Minister Sergei Donskoi has called on the Prosecutor General's Office to investigate the death of a polar bear caused by a firecracker explosion on Wrangel Island.

"The Natural Resources Ministry received a video of a cold-blooded killing of a polar bear that is listed in the Russian Red Data Book and protected by international treaties. According to preliminary information, a worker killed the rare animal using a firecracker," the ministry's statement reads.

Sergei Donskoi demanded that this brutal killing be investigated and that those guilty be brought to justice.

"The footage is proof of the flagrant violation of Russian and international environmental legislation," RIA Novosti quoted the minister as saying.