Unusual Incident
Polar bear sighted in southern Canada
The polar bear sighted in Madeleine-Centre, Canada
© 2022 AFP / AFP
A polar bear has been spotted far from its range in southern Canada. The residents couldn’t believe their eyes.
According to authorities and eyewitness reports, the polar bear appeared on Saturday morning in the small village of Madeleine-Centre near the Saint Lawrence River. “Our dog barked and I heard my husband yell, ‘There’s a bear! There’s a bear!'” reported Sophie Bonneville from the 2,000-inhabitant village, 800 kilometers northeast of Montréal.
Quebec police urged caution. Madeleine-Centre residents should stay indoors and not go outside.
Bonneville said at first people thought she was kidding. However, she was able to take several evidence photos of the animal before it disappeared into the forest. “Nobody’s seen anything like it here. How can the bear get across the pack ice to the river, swim across it, and get here?” Otherwise, polar bears would not be sighted even on the other side of the St. Lawrence River. It could be a result of climate change, she speculated.
Polar bears are threatened with extinction due to climate change
According to a 2020 study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, climate change could lead to polar bears’ near-extinction as their natural habitat – the pack ice – continues to thaw.