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Dozens of polar bears invade Russian town

Polar Bears - Level 0

Polar bears in a town in Russia are scaring people. Over 52 bears walk around the town. This is serious. The bears chase people into their homes. Parents are afraid to let their children go to school. There have never been this many polar bears. The town said there is a "polar bear emergency".

The bears are looking for food. The sea ice is melting because of climate change. The bears can smell food outside homes. The town wants to kill the bears. Russia's environmental agency said no. Polar bears are in danger. The World Wildlife Fund says this is because of the loss of the bears' sea ice habitat.

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Polar Bears - Level 1

Polar bears on a Russian island in the Arctic Ocean are scaring people. At least 52 bears walk around a town. The situation is serious. Bears have chased people into their homes. The town called a "polar bear emergency". It said: "The people are scared. They are frightened to leave homes....Parents are afraid to let their children go to school." One person said: "I have been [here] since 1983, but there have never been so many polar bears."

The bears are looking for food because the sea ice is melting. Climate change is one reason for this. The bears can smell food in bins outside homes. The town wants to kill the animals to reduce the danger, but Russia's environmental agency said no. Polar bears are a vulnerable species. The World Wildlife Fund says they are in danger. This is because of the "loss of their sea ice habitat resulting from climate change".

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Polar Bears - Level 2

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Polar bears in the Russian town of Belushya Guba are scaring people. At least 52 bears have been seen wandering around. The town is on an island in the Arctic Ocean. The situation is serious because the bears have chased people into homes and offices. Local officials declared a "polar bear emergency". One said: "The people are scared. They are frightened to leave homes....Parents are afraid to let their children go to school or kindergarten." A local person said: "I have been [here] since 1983, but there have never been so many polar bears."

The polar bears are walking into towns looking for food. Experts say climate change is one reason for this. More sea ice is melting, so the bears are moving into new areas to find food. They can smell the food in bins outside people's homes. The town asked for permission to kill the animals to reduce the danger. However, Russia's environmental agency refused this request. Polar bears are a vulnerable species. The World Wildlife Fund says they are in danger because of the "loss of their sea ice habitat resulting from climate change".

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Polar Bears - Level 3

Polar bears on an island in Russia are scaring people in a small town. At least 52 polar bears have been seen wandering around the town of Belushya Guba. The town is on the island of Novaya Zemlya, which is in the Arctic Ocean. The situation has become serious because the bears have chased people and entered homes and offices. Local officials have declared a "polar bear emergency". Local official Alexander Minayev said: "The people are scared. They are frightened to leave homes and their daily routines are broken. Parents are afraid to let their children go to school or kindergarten." A local said: "I have been [here] since 1983, but there have never been so many polar bears in the vicinity."

Officials say the polar bears are roaming into towns looking for food. They say that climate change is one reason for this. More sea ice is melting, which means the bears are moving into new areas to find food. They are attracted by the smell of food in bins outside people's homes. Town officials have asked for permission to kill the animals to reduce the danger to humans. However, Russia's environmental agency has refused this request. Polar bears are classed as a vulnerable species. The World Wildlife Fund says they are in danger because of the "ongoing and potential loss of their sea ice habitat resulting from climate change". It is helping to keep the polar bears away from the people of Belushya Guba.

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