A mother-of-two was killed after being attacked by a wild brown bear on her property in Russia's Krasnoyarsk region. The animal reportedly mauled Marina Velichko, 51, before dragging her critically injured body beneath a nearby tree.
Velichko was attacked after stepping outside her home and encountering the bear, which was reportedly targeting her livestock. A local resident later shot and killed the bear near a rubbish disposal site, reports suggested.
Victim's background and family
Velichko worked at a school in the village of Voznesenka. She had previously lost her son Alexander, who was killed while serving in Russia's military campaign in Ukraine. She is survived by her 13-year-old daughter and a 15-year-old foster son.
Reports indicate she is the 21st person to have died in a bear attack this summer, making it one of the deadliest seasons on record for such incidents. This is the seventh fatality in the Krasnoyarsk region.
Other bear encounters
In a separate incident in Russia's Buryatia region, two men narrowly escaped a bear attack while searching for cattle that had wandered off. Both were mauled by the animal, but one of the men managed to reach his firearm and shoot the bear.
The attack came just days after a 39-year-old night watchman was killed in an encounter with a bear near Potapovo in the Krasnoyarsk region.
Rising bear population and warnings
The wild bear population in Russia has surged from approximately 130,000 in 1990 to nearly 308,000 currently, with evidence suggesting westward migration toward Moscow.
Political analyst Sergei Markov, a former politician, warned: "There seems to be some kind of bear uprising in Russia. There have been many cases of bears attacking people across Siberia. In many regions, the authorities are mobilizing hunters to shoot the bears. There are not enough hunters."
He said, "Soon, there will probably have to be a mobilization of hunters from European Russia to travel to Siberia and take part in defending settlements from bear attacks. In many regions, mass outdoor events in forests or along their edges have been canceled. The reasons for this mass bear uprising are unclear. What do the bears in Russia want?"
