Russian to spend month on Siberian rock to protest bear cull
A Russian photographer is to spend a month on a rocky mountain peak in an East Siberian nature reserve in protest against a planned cull of local bears.
Alexander Kuptsov, 51, pitched his tent on the rocky summit of Mount Takmak at a height of 200 meters in the Krasnoyarsk nature reserve of Stolby last week. The reserve, with an area of 47,100 hectares, was created in 1925 on the initiative of local residents.
He is protesting against plans of local activists to "slay all bears in the area due to their aggressive behavior." The measures were planned last year after a rescuer survived a bear attack.
"I spent all my young days here... and I want to repay the nature reserve with good deeds. The threats to kill the bears and dismiss the reserve`s director are the reason for my protest," Kuptsov wrote in his livejournal blog.
The nature reserve`s authorities have supported Kuptsov`s move, and allowed him to stay on the rock as long as he wants. Russian emergencies officials are cautious over the protest, saying they fear Kuptsov could be attacked by a bear himself.
After his stay on the rock, the photographer plans to publish a book in which he will recount his adventures and show photos taken in the nature reserve.
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