A group of Russian weather researchers found themselves in deep trouble after they found themselves trapped in a remote island in the Arctic. According to TIME, the Russian weather team were barred from exiting their camp after they saw polar bears fighting in near the exit.
The weather team consists of two meteorologists and an engineer. Unarmed, the researchers went to in northern Russia on a mission to measure seawater temperatures. The Fyodorov weather station is located on the remote island of Vaygach. As the team was about to conduct their study, they were unable to leave as five polar bears, displaying aggressive behavior, have stationed themselves around the area, thereby blocking their exit, CNN reported.
The location where the weather team were supposed to gather water for measurement is reportedly located far away from the station. The team was originally meant to take two trips a day to conduct their measurements if it hadn't been for the polar bears hanging around.
According to one trapped staffer, the animals were fighting near the station because of food.
A pair of the bears "recently grappled, fighting near the house," said the trapped staffer.
According to the Russian World Wildlife Fund (WWF), since the team brought no weapons with them aside from flares, they are appealing to the government of Russia to send the station necessary equipment to scare the polar bears away.
The team already tried scaring the animals off with flares, but according to CNN, it didn't work as the polar bears kept to the area.
The WWF statement added that the researchers are now keeping in touch with the Polar Bear Patrol. As of this writing, it remains unclear whether the Russian government has sent for the needed equipment.
Viktor Nikiforov, head of the WWF Polar Bear Patrol project, was told by one of the researchers that the animals have apparently been sleeping near their camp for some days.
"People living in the Arctic must be prepared to face with a polar bear," according to Viktor Nikiforov in the WWF statement. "However, the station staff have no weapons." "In addition, employees are not provided with any scaring-off devices and the station area is not fenced," he added.
According to Red Orbit, the team of researchers will be unable to continue their mission and will remain stuck unless they get the needed equipment.
On a broader perspective, polar bears are already endangered because the Arctic sea ice, the animals' natural habitat, has been waning away at faster and faster rates as years pass.
As Arctic ice melts because of global warming, polar bear cubs are now forced to swim long distances with their mother, which, most of the time, they cannot keep up with, according to a new study.
"Climate change is pulling the sea ice out from under polar bears' feet, forcing some to swim longer distances to find food and habitat," said Geoff York of World Wildlife Fund, a co-author of the study.
In addition, as ice declines in the Arctic, so does seals, which polar bears need to feed on to survive, according to The Inquisitr.
By 2050, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates that two-thirds of polar bear population on the entire planet will have been wiped out.
