A polar bear was shot on Satur­day at Ver­le­gen­hu­ken, on the north coast of Spits­ber­gen.

A group of four ski tou­rists from Finn­land, on Spits­ber­gen for a 3 week trip, was on Ver­le­gen­hu­ken when the men were approa­ched by the polar bear. Initi­al­ly, they could sca­re it away with a signal pis­tol, but then the bear approa­ched again and a rif­le shot was fired from a distance of 35 met­res. The polar bear was woun­ded and went away. The group alar­med the Sys­sel­man­nen. Offi­ci­als arri­ving by heli­c­op­ter mana­ged to find the bear in a snow cave in a cliff and shot it.

The body of the polar bear was taken to Lon­gye­ar­by­en for a post mor­tem. Until now, it is only known that it was a male bear weig­hing 116 kg. The weight sug­gests that it was a young ani­mal, pos­si­bly mal­nu­tri­tio­ned in addi­ti­on. But this is not con­firm­ed infor­ma­ti­on.

The case will rou­ti­ne­ly be a mat­ter of poli­ce inves­ti­ga­ti­on to estab­lish wether or not it was a case of self defen­se. In case of care­less­ness, the law opens for fines or even impri­son­ment.

The last time a polar bear was shot was in March 2015 in Tem­pel­fjord.

Pho­to – Polar bear shot at Ver­le­gen­hu­ken

Source: Sys­sel­man­nen