May 23, 2020

Do Bears Attack in the Woods?


Do Bears Attack in the Woods?
When bears stray from their habitat... Image by Alan Vernon via Wikimedia Commons

There is a stereotype about Russia that bears roam the streets there. This week in Yaroslavl, that stereotype came to life, as a bear roamed the streets of a sleepy suburb. Residents posted on social media about the presence of a bear walking along the tram lines in the city's Dzerzhinsky district.

This wasn’t all, however, as unfortunately, the bear attacked a man as part of his venture through the city. The man was saved by a taxi driver, who began beeping the horn and flashing his signals to distract and scare away the bear. The taxi driver then took the man to a local hospital, where he was treated for a hip wound.

The taxi driver was awarded for his bravery by the taxi company, although he said he was just acting as anyone in that situation (who happened to be in a car) should. The bear did not meet such a promising fate: because he continued to stay in the city and wouldn’t return to the forest, authorities were forced to put the bear down.

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Some of Our Books

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At the Circus (bilingual)

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Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

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Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Okudzhava Bilingual

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The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

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Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

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