The Sys­sel­man­nen has deci­ded to anaes­the­ti­ze the polar bear and to fly it out and far away from Lon­gye­ar­by­en. This was prompt­ly done in coope­ra­ti­on with the Nor­we­gi­an Polar Insti­tu­te, which is rou­ti­ne­ly doing simi­lar ope­ra­ti­ons in con­nec­tion with field work. The polar bear is now flown out towards the east, to be released some­whe­re safe and far away from the sett­le­ments.

Accor­ding to Sys­sel­man­nen and Nor­we­gi­an Polar Insti­tu­te, this ope­ra­ti­on was more gent­le for the polar bear than sca­ring it away with heli­c­op­ters.

Two pho­tos from the ope­ra­ti­on

A polar bear in the clo­se vici­ni­ty of Lon­gye­ar­by­en is not an ever­y­day event, it is the first time sin­ce Octo­ber 2014. The poli­ce is out with heli­c­op­ter and snow mobi­le to make sure the situa­ti­on is kept under con­trol, while many onloo­kers are gathe­ring on the rim of Lon­gye­ar­by­en near Advent­da­len.

The bear is on the shore­li­ne in Advent­da­len, may­be (rough esti­ma­te) 2 km away from town. And he (or she?) is the only one who does not care about all the exci­te­ment: he is lying, slee­ping and doing not­hing so far.