The bear which wandered into the right-bank part of Tuvan capital was sick with rabies. That is the conclusion reached by specialists of the veterinary laboratory after virological examination of the bear’s brain. They also determined the bear’s approximate age of 6-7 years. As the chief of the security department of State hunting and fishing commission of the republic, Boris Medvedev, informed us, the bear’s carcass was burned, and the skin utilized.
Recall that on the Day of National Unity - November 4 - a hungry bear walked into Kyzyl. Residents of the right bank of Kyzyl, when they saw the bear by an earth embankment, notified Emergency Services. Rescue workers contacted the Hunting and Fishing commission. Eyewitnesses related that the hungry bear was attempting to attack pedestrians on the Cherbi-Kyzyl route, who were saved by a vehicle passing by.
“The bear was behaving aggressively, that is why our specialists were forced to shoor him, - Medvedev commented on the event. - Samples were taken and submitted to the veterinary laboratory for analysis. The results are to be ready in ten days. The primary examination showed an almost complete absence of body fat, meaning that the animal was motivated by hunger. This year, the harvest of cedar nuts and berries was very sparse. And a bear can’t get fat on a few cranberries anyway. It is understandable that he could not go into hibernation in such a condition. In a way it is a warning for us to be concerned, we should be prepared that such cases of bears coming out of the taiga could happen again.”