‘Nomad’ grizzly bears enter residential areas in eastern Turkey
|AA Photo


Several hungry grizzly bears left their mountain homes and travelled to a hotel area at Cıbıltepe Ski Resort, which is located in the Sarıkamış district of eastern Turkey's Kars province.

The bears were seen scavenging for food in hotel dumpsites alongside their cubs, much to the surprise of nearby guests and hotel personnel, who captured the moment with their cell phones.

Hotel staff member Erhan Taş told Anadolu Agency that grizzly bears are normally seen at night, adding that it was the first time they had come to hotel grounds in broad daylight.

Some citizens placed breads around the forestland to help lure the hungry grizzly bears out.

As part of the Wildlife in Eastern Anatolia Project, scientists discovered the first "nomad" grizzly bears in 2016 after satellite transmitters attached to some of the bears for research tracking purposes showed interesting travelling patterns.

The findings revealed that some of the bears, which lived in the forests around the Sarıkamış district of eastern Kars province, had travelled up to 250 kilometers to northeastern Artvin province's Şavşat district before winter arrived. The bears later returned in winter to enter into hibernation.