Bears airlifted from floods in Russia
The severe flooding that has ravaged Russia's far east has forced more than 20,000 people to evacuate the Amur River region in recent days. Now, two bears can be added to that list.
As floodwaters rose, rescue workers decided to airlift the brown bears, trapped at a campsite near Blagoveshchensk, on Monday. A government helicopter lifted the bears, which were in a detached cage, to higher ground using a steel cable.
The bears are doing well, the BBC reports.
According to Russia's RIA Novosti news agency, the Russian army has set up more than 160 temporary shelters across the flood-stricken areas.
The Amur and Khabarovsk regions, near the Chinese border, are said to the be worst affected, according to BBC Europe. The floodwaters are not expected to fully recede until September.
