On July 28th, a polar bear has been shot dead after injuring a guard working for cruise ship tourists visiting an Arctic archipelago in Norway.
The Joint Rescue Coordination for Northern Norway tweeted that the attack occurred when the tourists from the MS Bremen cruise ship landed on the most northern island of the Svalbard archipelago, a region between mainland Norway and the North Pole that is known for its remote terrain, glaciers, reindeer and polar bears.
The German Hapag Lloyd Cruises company, which operates the MS Bremen, told The Associated Press that two polar bear guards from their ship went on the island and one of them "was attacked by a polar bear and injured on his head."
The polar bear was then shot dead "in an act of self-defense" by the second guard, spokeswoman Negar Etminan said.
"There had to be intervention for reasons of self-defense and to protect the life of the attacked person," the company said in a post on Facebook, “We are extremely sorry that this incident has happened.”
The injured guard was then flown by helicopter to a nearby hospital.
"He was flown out, was responsive, and is currently undergoing medical treatment," Etminan said, adding that the victim was not in a life-threatening condition. He was not identified and no further information was given on him.
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She said that all cruise ships traveling in the northern region are obliged to have polar bear guards armed for safety reasons.
Mr. Krause, the German operator of the cruise expedition, said that the company dated to 1891 and that he was not aware of any similar episodes on any previous expedition. The ship, which typically carries a maximum of 150 people, remained at the site for “a couple of hours” to comply with local laws and then moved on, he added.
No tourists had disembarked, but four armed guards got off the vessel to inspect and secure the shore.
He explained that usually, if a wild bear is seen, guards “shoot into the air” to scare the animal away. On Saturday morning, however, the injured guard did not see the polar bear.
Pictures of the polar bear were widely circulated online, sparking criticism of Arctic wildlife tourism, including from the comedian Ricky Gervais, who tweeted: “Let's get too close to a polar bear in its natural environment and then kill it if it gets too close.' Morons.”
The death of the bear at the hands of another cruise ship employee drew condemnation on social media, with some calling it “abhorrent” and others questioning killing the polar bear for “acting like a wild animal.”
Arctic tourism to the region has risen sharply in the last few years and is now in high season. A Longyearbyen port schedule showed that 18 cruise ships will be docking at the Arctic port in the next week.
Source: Financial Times