On June 16, 2019, an emaciated-looking polar bear spotted wandering the streets of the small city of Norislk, Siberia, shocked netizens worldwide.

Polar bears had not been spotted in the small industrial city in 40 years.

The bear was believed to be lost and had allegedly wandered 1,500km away from its home in the Arctic Circle to reach the human settlement.

However, wildlife experts have recently debunked that idea and come up with a much more insidious theory behind the bear's appearance.

Bear currently in ill health

The bear was caught and sedated by experts from the Royev Ruchei Zoo on June 20, The Siberian Times reported.

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It was sent to a zoo in Krasnoyarsk, another city in Siberia, on June 21, where it will be quarantined.

Experts stated that it required urgent medical treatment, as it was suffering from diarrhea after rummaging through garbage dumps and consuming food scraps.

The female bear was also reportedly "very stressed due to being in the city and surrounded by so many people".

Allegedly dumped by poachers

The polar bear was initially believed to have been lost. However, experts have recently speculated that this might be unlikely.

The bear's fur was apparently too clean for it to have walked over a thousand kilometres from the Arctic. Furthermore, it is more typical of male polar bears to migrate long distances, as opposed to females.

Additionally, the bear was determined to only be about a year old—too young to have trekked such a long journey.

Instead, experts postulated that the bear might have been a victim of the illegal wildlife trade.

Caught! The Norilsk polar bear needs urgent medical help, say experts. A worrying new claim suggests the animal could have been grown indoors for pelt trade https://t.co/Yt1sY6RW1I pic.twitter.com/X8gQpYpNVq

— The Siberian Times (@siberian_times) June 20, 2019

It was theorised that the young bear had been captured as a cub and then raised in captivity in the city itself by poachers, to be then later sold alive, or killed for its pelt.

A polar bear pelt is highly valuable, and could fetch up to £25,000 (S$43,170).

The bear might have been released in the city after poaching laws were tightened in Russia in 2018, according to the Times.

As of 2013, WWF stated that those in Russia caught poaching an endangered species, of which the polar bear is one, can be prosecuted under criminal law and would be fined 1.1 million rubles (S$23,651).

Top photo from Irina Yarinskaya / AFP/ Getty Images and The Siberian Times / Youtube