A starving polar bear has walked almost 1,000 miles in the wrong direction away form his natural habitat and has wandered into an industrial Russian city.
The heartbreaking sight was captured on camera, with people gathering to see the animal, who looked exhausted as he wandered through the Soviet era nickel mining city of Norilsk.
Advert
Irina Yarinskaya, a photographer of Zapolyarnaya Pravda newspaper, was taking images of the bear
She told local media: "He is seriously hunger-bitten, he is hardly able to blink and keep his eyes open, almost unable to walk.
"He was lying for a long time, having a rest, then he crossed the road and entered the industrial zone.
"He went towards the gravel and sand factory. Then he crossed one more road and headed to a dump."
Advert
Although reports say he seemed too weak to attack anyone, authorities have reminded people of the danger of approaching a wild animal.
Norilsk, which is usually closed to tourists and only has daylight for nine months of the year, is located about 950 miles south of the Arctic shore.
Officials are deciding whether to sedate the lost bear or take him to a zoo.
Advert
Oleg Krashevsky - who specialises in tours to the Putorana Plateau - posted: "I don't understand how the bear could have walked such distance, across Taymyr and not come across anyone.
"He must have encountered many hunters. The same thing happened in 1970s when a polar bear showed up at an explosives warehouse around the same place as this time."
Anatoly Nikolaychyuk, head of Taymyr department of state hunting control, said: "We got as close as twenty metres, and the animal didn't react to the noise of the car.
Advert
"We decided not to go out of the car - after all polar bears can jump up to 6 metres high.
"It is the second time in more than forty years when the polar bear is seen in the city. Last time in 1977 a hungry and aggressive female polar bear reached outskirts of Norilsk.
"It had to be shot because it posed danger to residents."
As polar bears are an endangered species in Russia, authorities in Moscow need to give permission on the course of action to determine the bear's future.
Featured Image Credit: East2West NewsTopics: World News, Animals