There are plans to establish a Polar Bear Patrol in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area to keep a count of the polar bear population and conserve the predator. According to the official website of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area's administration, a roundtable discussion was conducted recently that focused on the implementation of the scientific research project "Polar Bear Shelter in the Russian Arctic" and involved representatives of the autonomous area's Department of Science and Innovation and the Arctic Interregional Expedition Center.

The Director of the autonomous area's Department of Science and Innovation, Alexei Titovsky said researchers almost completely lack any data on the number and condition of the polar bear population inhabiting the area near the Kara and the Barents seas. Mr. Titovsky stressed that the polar bear has been spotted more and more frequently in sites inhabited by people. The sites include Sabetta, Kharasavey and the northern coast of the Gydan Peninsula. Encounters with polar bears will become more frequent since the development of mining in transpolar regions and Arctic tourism. Better data on the number of polar bears in the region and their routes can prevent confrontations between man and bear.

Last year, the Arctic Interregional Expedition Center purchased five collars operated by the Argos satellite system designed to track the predators' movements. The project's implementation involves representatives of the Russian Center for Arctic Exploration, the tourism company Arctic Tour, the environmental organization Green Arctic and the Department of Nature and Resources Regulation, Forestry Relations and Development of the Oil and Gas Complex of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area. All of them have taken training courses at the research center of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution and have certificates proving that they are qualified to work with predators.