$5,255 fine issued after foghorn wakes up sleeping polar bear
Under local regulations, "it is forbidden to needlessly disturb, attract or pursue a polar bear," which was declared a protected species in 1972.
A resident in Norway's Svalbard archipelago received a $5,255 fine for using a foghorn to awaken a sleeping polar bear, according to officials. The incident occurred in a fjord near the North Pole, around 620 miles away. A person on board a vessel spotted a polar bear on land and used the foghorn to wake it, causing the bear to relocate.
The governing body fined the individual for violating local regulations prohibiting unnecessary disturbance, attraction, or pursuit of polar bears. These bears were designated a protected species in Svalbard in 1972. A recent count found approximately 260 polar bears in the archipelago, with the population reported to be thriving.
Despite climate change and melting ice, polar bears in Svalbard have been found to be in good health and reproducing successfully. Researchers led by Jon Aars, a senior scientist from the Norwegian Polar Institute, noted that the bears are adapting to smaller ice patches, potentially making hunting more efficient as their prey becomes more concentrated.
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