Tag Archives: polar bear
NO CHARGES IN DRUGGED BEAR’S DEATH: Autopsy shows polar bear tranqilized for research tagging apparently drowned when its head ended up in water, governor rules
A polar bear that died in September while in the process of being “tagged” by researchers likely drowned when its head ended up in a pool of water, The Governor of Svalbard announced Tuesday. As a result, no charges are being sought in the matter.
LETHARGIC BEAR LINGERING: Polar bear spotted Sunday still (slowly) wandering around Adventdalen without disrupting much, but extra caution urged due to near-total darkness
Photo by Marcel Schütz
A polar bear first spotted near Longyearbyen on Saturday is still lingering two days later in Adventdalen, where it’s not moving around much or disturbing much, according to observers and The Governor of Svalbard.
POLAR BEAR IN ADVENTDALEN: Predator seen Sunday morning near Hiorthhamn wandering toward mountains east of Longyearbyen, but officials tracking it throughout the evening
POLAR BEAR DIES WHILE BEING ‘TAGGED’: Researchers were fitting bear with monitoring device commonly used to track species’ population Svalbard; governor investigating death
A polar bear being “tagged” for observation by researchers in north Svalbard died on Wednesday, according to The Governor of Svalbard. The cause is under investigation.
SHOT IN SELF DEFENSE: No charges against cruise ship crew that killed polar bear during shore excursion that resulted in heated debate about remote Arctic tourism
No criminal charges are being sought against cruise ship employees who fatally shot a polar bear that attempted an attack during a shore excursion in north Svalbard in July of 2018, resulting in a heated debate about large-scale tourism in remote Arctic areas, because it was a legitimate case of self defense, The Governor of Svalbard announced Friday.
THEY KEEP COMING BACK: Polar bear visits Hiorthhamn yet again at midday Wednesday; officials pondering removal efforts
Photo by Sophie Cordon
Update 2:30 p.m.: Officials have decided to use a helicopter to push the bear toward Revneset because it is disturbing several cabins in the area and is not responding to flares intended to scare it away, Svalbardposten reported.
Original story: After two days of removing and trying to chase away four polar bears near Longyearbyen, another visit by one occurred at about noon Wednesday at Hiorthhamn, prompting officials to yet again determine what, if any, actions are merited to remove it from the cabin area on the shore across the bay from town.
TWO POLAR BEARS FLOWN AWAY, TWO NEW ONES ARRIVE: Well-known female bear and her cub removed from cabin area at Hiorthhamn, but new ones near town separately hours later
Photo by Guri Opheim.
A female polar bear who’s been a persistent visitor to the Longyearbyen area was flown with her cub well away from town Monday after yet another lingering visit to the cabin area at Hiorthhamn. But within hours two new bears arrived near town, one in Adventdalen and the other near at Revneset – with the latter trying to enter cabins and prompting officials to try to scare it scare it away using flash-bang shots and helicopter, according to The Governor of Svalbard.
“The governor asks people to be alert when they are out in the field and report if they observe polar bears,” a statement issued Tuesday morning notes.
POLAR BEAR BRINGS EARLY-MORNING MAY DAY CALL: Helicopter tracks animal for four hours as it wanders from Bjørndalen and past cabins before heading north
A polar bear sighted in Bjørndalen at about 3 a.m. Friday was tracked by a rescue helicopter for about four hours as it wandered past cabin areas, into Adventdalen, and though the water and coastline across from Longyearbyen before heading northward away from town, according to police.
People in cabins reported the bear to officials, who used the aircraft to monitor it but took no other action, said Police Chief Lt. Kjell Arne Lundin. He said there were no reports of encounters with people who were out.
No special precautions are being taken since the bear is now considered a safe distance from inhabited areas, he said.
BEAR ON BOARD: Crew of Russian cargo ship forced to take refuge on roof as polar bear climbs on deck in search of food
A polar bear in search of food climbed aboard a Russian cargo ship while it was in Svalbard waters, forcing the crew to take refuge at length on the roof until the predator, failing to find the fish aboard, gave up and swam away, according to the Murmansk Sea Fish Port.
AUTOPSY – BEAR DIED OF ANESTHESIA-RELATED CAUSES: Officials cite ‘unfortunate,’ but not unexpected reasons polar bear stunned near Longyearbyen died on helicopter flight north
A two-year-old polar bear sedated and flown by helicopter away from Longyearbyen in late January because of repeated visits in/near town died during the flight of “circulatory failure/shock due to the combination of prolonged chasing, stress and drug anesthesia,” the Norwegian Polar Institute declared in a statement Thursday following an autopsy.
