Norway Fines Man Thousands of Dollars for Disturbing Sleeping Polar Bear with Ship's Foghorn
Local officials said the person agreed to pay the fine after using a ship’s foghorn to disturb a protected polar bear.
- On Thursday, local officials in Norway's Svalbard archipelago fined an individual 50,000 kroner for using a ship's foghorn to wake a sleeping polar bear in a northeastern fjord earlier in Aug.
- Under Section 30a of the Svalbard Environmental Act, the governor issued the penalty enforcing regulations that "it is forbidden to needlessly disturb, attract or pursue a polar bear."
- Svalbard saw 67,000 cruise ship passengers in 2024, prompting stricter protections taking effect in January 2025 requiring vessels to maintain at least 300 meters from bears.
- Similar enforcement occurred in June 2024, when two French guides were each fined around $2,100 for steering tourists toward a polar bear feeding on a whale carcass in the Arctic.
- Research from Jon Aars of the Norwegian Polar Institute tracked nearly 800 bears between 1992 and 2019, finding the population remains healthy and reproducing despite major sea ice loss.
15 Articles
15 Articles
In Norway, a traveller has been punished because he has operated the fog horn – and thus disturbed an animal.
A Boat Operator Was Fined for Waking a Sleeping Polar Bear With a Foghorn
Svalbard sits about 620 miles from the North Pole and is one of the few places left on Earth where polar bears roam freely. Thousands of tourists visit every year to see them in their natural habitat, and the Golden Rule is—look, snap some pics, and move on. Not everyone gets that. Earlier this month, […] The post A Boat Operator Was Fined for Waking a Sleeping Polar Bear With a Foghorn appeared first on VICE.
Shafaq News - Follow-up: Norwegian authorities fined a man 50,000 kroner (approximately $5,300) after he used a powerful fog horn on a ship to wake a sleeping polar bear in the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway. The incident occurred in early August when people on board the ship spotted the bear sleeping on land. One of them then used the ship's horn, which woke the animal and caused it to move to another location. The governor of Svalbard…
The Economic Times
Times of IndiaNorway fines man thousands of dollars for disturbing sleeping polar bear with ship's foghorn
A person in Svalbard received a substantial fine for deliberately disturbing a polar bear. The incident involved sounding a foghorn, which woke the sleeping animal aboard a vessel. Environmental regulations strictly prohibit such unnecessary disturbances of protected polar bears. Svalbard rules mandate specific minimum distances for approaching these animals. Previous fines have also been issued for disturbing other wildlife in the region.
He woke a sleeping polar bear with a ship horn. Minutes later, it cost him Rs 5 lakh
A boat operator was fined 50,000 Norwegian kroner (around Rs 5 lakh) after deliberately using a ship's foghorn to wake a sleeping polar bear, triggering action under strict wildlife protection laws.
Man fined Rs 4 lakh for 'waking up' polar bear near North Pole
A ship operator was fined 50,000 Norwegian kroner (Rs 4.5 lakh) for waking up a polar bear with the ship’s horn near the North Pole earlier this month. While passing through a sea inlet off the coast of Svalbard, the tourist onboard the ship spotted the polar bear resting. As they wanted to see the animal move, the operator deliberately sounded the horn. The loud noise startled the bear as it woke up and fled the shore. After being informed of t…
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