A person in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago has been fined 50,000 kroner (£3,890) for using a ship’s foghorn to wake a sleeping polar bear. The incident took place earlier this month as a vessel was sailing through a fjord in north-western Svalbard, around 1,000 km (620 miles) from the North Pole.
According to Svalbard Governor Lars Fause, people aboard the vessel spotted the polar bear sleeping on land and one person sounded the foghorn. The noise woke the animal, which then moved to another location. The individual, whose identity has not been disclosed, agreed to pay the fine.
Polar bears have been protected in Svalbard since 1972, and local regulations prohibit people from unnecessarily disturbing, attracting or pursuing them. The archipelago is home to an estimated 250 polar bears, based on the most recent scientific count in 2015. Authorities have previously fined tourists for disturbing wildlife, including a visitor who was penalised in 2024 for getting too close to a walrus.
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