'Junkie' Bears Getting High After Smelling Fumes of Aircraft Fuel in Russia

Bears at the Kronotsky Nature Reserve in Russia have got addicted to discarded barrels of aircraft fuel, and have gone to extreme lengths just to get a sniff of the fumes emanating from the barrels.

After sniffing the barrels of gasoline and kerosene, the addicted bears dig a shallow hole and lie down there to revel in the trip.

Russian snapper Igor Shpilenok stayed with the bears for seven months at the sanctuary, and recounted tales of the bears going fanatical in the search of canisters containing aircraft fuel.

"One of these times, a helicopter brought a few barrels of gasoline. Workers of the nature reserve didn't take them in time and a female bear named Suzemka- who is apparently fascinated by the smell of fuel- used the opportunity (to get high)," said the photographer, who is currently working on a new book on Kamchatka- province where the nature reserve is located.

"She seems to be one of the addicts," said the photographer who has spent years photographing animals and Russian landscape.

He also said that the 'junkie' bears have got so hooked to the fuels that they even wait for the helicopters to take off, so that they can sniff the drops of fuel.

Kronotsky Nature Reserve, located in the far east of Russia, is home to more than 700 brown bears. The nature reserve, which has been called Land of Fire and Ice due to its mix of volcanoes and geysers, has been proclaimed a heritage site by UNESCO.

Animals Getting High

Apparently, the bears in the Russian reserve forest aren't the exceptions. There are other animals, too, that love to get a kick once in a while. Horses, apart from licking frogs to get high, love locoweed which can be compared to what nicotine is for humans.

(Courtesy: didgerman, YouTube)

Jaguars are notorious junkies. They go to any levels to search for caapi roots prevalent in the Amazon forests. On finding them, they start chewing it until they start hallucinating.

In 2009, it was found that wallabies in Australia were caught eating opium poppies and then making crop circles after getting "high as a kite".