TALLINN, May 16 (RIA Novosti) - A brown bear was caught by an Estonian environmental inspector in the Narva River swimming toward the Russian border, the Eesti Paevaleht daily reported on Friday.

The bear had swum almost 100 meters until it was noticed by the official, who was on a barge. Frightened by the barge horn, the bear swam back to Estonia.

However, when the barge moved away, the bear reentered Russian territory, swimming to Ivangorod, some 160 kilometers west of Russia's St. Petersburg, before later swimming back to Estonia.