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[INTERNATIONAL] · Norway · 43 sources

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Svalbard tourist fined for waking sleeping polar bear

A tourist has been fined 50,000 Norwegian kroner (approximately $4,500 to $5,300) for disturbing a sleeping polar bear in the Svalbard archipelago. The incident occurred in early August when a passenger on a vessel in a northwestern fjord used the ship’s foghorn to wake a bear resting on the shore, causing the animal to move to a different location.

Governor Lars Fause confirmed the penalty, noting that the act was deemed intentional. Under the Svalbard Environmental Protection Act, it is strictly prohibited to unnecessarily disturb, attract, or pursue polar bears, which have been a protected species since 1972. Regulations require maintaining specific distances from bears—300 meters during certain months and 500 meters during mating season—to ensure the wildlife is not adversely affected by human activity.

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Jon Aars · Lars Fause · Norway · Norwegian Polar Institute · Svalbard · Svalbard Environmental Protection Act

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