A YOUNG male polar bear has washed up on an ice floe in Russia’s Far East 700 kilometers south of its natural habitat, triggering efforts to rescue the endangered animal.

Polar bears’ dangerous encounters with humans are becoming more frequent as climate change melts the sea ice where the creatures roam. A polar bear invasion struck panic in the remote Arctic settlement of Novaya Zemlya in February, prompting the authorities to declare a state of emergency and the Russian military to pledge to address the issue.

The polar bear was spotted in the Kamchatka region villages of Korf and Tilichiki on Sunday. The bear could have lost its sense of direction while drifting on an ice floe, environmentalists said.

Local officials said the animal, which is not native to Kamchatka and has no chance of survival in the region, appears wounded and does not show aggression toward humans.

Kamchatka authorities are preparing to airlift the bear back to Chukotka autonomous district after sedating it with a tranquilizer sometime this week.

Russia classifies polar bears as an endangered species.

(SD-Agencies)