Polar bear shot dead after attacking person on Svalbard
The bear attacked a person from a cruise vessel on Sjuøyene north of Nordaustlandet, in Svalbard.
The attack happened Saturday morning when a group of tourists went on shore from a cruise ship, the Joint Rescue Centre of Northern Norway informs.
The condition for the injured person, who was transported back to Longyearbyen (Svalbard capital) by helicopter, is reported to be stable. The polar bear was shot dead.
Svalbardposten, who was first to report about the incident, says the tourists belonged to the cruise ship “MS Bremen”.
Details about what happens will be for the Governor of Svalbard to investigate.
Increasing tourism
The cruise liner operating “MS Bremen” is from Hapag Lloyd Cruises. Live web-cam from the ship at 80’North of Svalbard is online, but no information about the injured person or the shooting of the polar bear was published by Saturday evening.
Sjuøyene are the northernmost group of islands on the Svalbard archipelago. The number of passenger vessels sailing expedition cruising in the waters around Svalbard has increased over the last few years and more are expected to start sailing as a fleet of almost 20 new ice-classed expedition ships currently are under construction.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Man in Northern Canada killed protecting his children from polar bear, CBC News
Finland: Rural Finland won’t be fully compensated for predator damage, Yle News
Norway: Polar bears greatly exposed to toxic chemicals in eastern Barents Sea, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Russia plans fenced parks to confine reindeer herding in Arctic, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Helping people face “unbearable” fear, Radio Sweden
United States: Trump admin pushes for looser rules on predator hunting in Alaska, Alaska Public Media
That’s a disgusting act that they did. They should’ve known very well that there is in fact wildlife in the area and should have been cautious. You cannot simply move onto wild land without checking first. They disrupted it and the way they handled things is despicable. They should all be ashamed of destroying a beauties life.