Aggressive polar bears are holding locals from the Russian village of Ryrkaypiy hostage after forcing hundreds of frightened local walruses to jump off 125ft cliffs to their deaths
The one tonne predators are thought to have forced hundreds of frightened walruses to jump off 125ft cliffs to their deaths before feasting on the carcasses.
Around 20 of the fearsome bears have surrounded the coastal area of Ryrkaypiy, population of 601, with one cub even trying to enter a house through the window.
The polar bears were attracted by a walrus rookery in a special protection zone in the Russian far eastern region of Chukotka.
A local wildlife official called the situation 'alarming'.
'Many of the frightened flippered marine mammals fell off cliffs at Kozhevnikova Cape as they sought to flee the invaders,' said one report.
The one tonne mammals are thought to have forced hundreds of frightened walruses to jump off 125ft cliffs to their deaths before feasting on the carcasses
Now the other walruses have migrated away and the polar bears are encircling the village.
'Around 20 polar bears remain practically next to the village,' said the head of WWF project Polar Bear Patrol, Viktor Nikiforov.
The polar bears were attracted by a walrus rookery in a special protection zone in the Russian far eastern region of Chukotka
'Three days ago, a bear squeezed in a window and tried to get inside. It's clear that people are frightened.'
Locals are patrolling and scaring the polar bears away from homes when they approach, he said.
'We are trying to save the lives of both people and Red Book polar bears ...'
Explaining the walruses falling, he said: 'Up to 5,000 walruses were on the rookery, but there were a lot of dead animals - several hundred...
'Many crashed, falling from a height. Their rookery had attracted polar bears.
'The walruses were obviously frightened by the predators, panicked and fell from the top to their deaths.'
