Two guards were eaten by a pack of hungry Kamchatka bears in Russia's far eastern region last Thursday.

Since then, the Associated Press reported that a pack of 30 bears are stalking two mines of a platinum mining company, causing 400 mine workers to refuse to go to work on the small island where Kamchatka brown bears live in the densest abundance of anywhere in the world.

The island of streams, rivers, volcanoes and snow-peaked mountains is also home to a poverty struck population. With very little work available, people who live on the island often poach fish to feed their families. According to a report by National Public Radio, the level of poaching has greatly decreased wild salmon populations, so much so that the indigenous brown bears, who feed on the salmon, are going hungry.

Male adult Kamchatka bears can weigh as much as a ton. They are compared to grizzly bears, although, when they have enough food, are not usually as aggressive as grizzlies. Males generally reach 9 feet in height. Females grow to about seven or eight feet tall.

A village official, Viktor Leushkin, told local reporters that a team would be dispatched to hunt the bears, saying that since they have tasted human flesh, they would no doubt attack humans again.