AP/ August 5, 2011, 10:46 AM

Deadly polar bear attack in Norway

OSLO, Norway -- Norwegian authorities say a polar bear has killed a British man and injured four others in an attack on a group of campers in the Arctic Svalbard archipelago.

A spokeswoman for the Svalbard governor's office, Liv Asta Oedegaard, said all the victims were male. But she did not immediately have further details.

She said the attack occurred Friday morning and the injured were taken to the hospital in the Svalbard capital Lonyearbyen, about 25 miles away.

Polar bear attacks are not unusual in the Svalbards, which attract well-off and hardy tourists with wilderness scenery and abandoned Soviet mining communities. Visitors are urged to carry high-powered rifles whenever venturing outside Longyearbyen.

8 Comments Add a Comment

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mary-miami says:: First off, people invaded the bear's turf. Secondly, the polar bear is facing extinction. Thirdly, it was probably hungry. If they would've thrown food to it, it would've eaten it's fill and gone on it's way...that's what animals typically do. The bear should not have been killed. Many biologists have gone into wilderness to study animals and have not been attacked. These guys were morons to aggravate the bear.; reply

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Dgunner says:: If the state I live in did not have the "Make my day law"I wouldnt go into town either.The bear should not have been killed.I personally don't believe in uneccessary killing but the eradication of child molesters and rapists are on the top of my list. Not a bear thousands of miles from a hum,an who traveled to its back yard for a pissing contest.; reply

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winnieposs says:: I agree with everything people have said in previous comments. It makes me so sad to see this situation -people move into areas known to be inhabited by wild animals with the potential to kill. And then when one of these animals does exactly what nature dictates that they do - they are killed by humans - as though they are the ones at fault. I am not a member of any animal welfare organisation; this is not coming from someone with a message to deliver. However I find myself feeling absolutely furious with the people who organised and faciliated this trip. A trip which has devastating results for a young boy but also for the polar bear, a species which already faces so many challenges from mankind's activities. It makes me sick.; reply

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articsurvivor says:: Humans should respect the Polar Bears natural habitat, the loss of life is a shame, however the loss of the Polar Bear is far greater, LONG LIVE THE POLAR BEARS!!!!!, THESE WILD ANIMALS DO NOT HAVE A VOICE NOR CAN THEY BE TAMED, WHY WAS THE POLAR BEAR KILLED?,FOR NOTHING!!!!, HUMANS SHOULD NOT INVADE THEIR HABITAT,THEY ARE THE TRESPASSERS, THEY NEED TO RESPECT THE POLAR BEARS AND THEIR HABITAT!!!!!! NO WONDER WILD ANIMALS ARE BECOMING EXTINCT IN THE THIS WORLD FOR MANS GREED TO KILL AND INVADE THE HABITAT OF THESE MAGNIFICENT ANIMALS, AN UTTER DISGRACE AND SHAME ON YOU, YOU THINK YOUR A MAN BECAUSE YOU PULLED THE TRIGGER ON SUCH A MAGNIFICENT ANIMAL, THINK AGAIN YOU COWARD STAY AWAY FROM THE ARTIC IN FUTURE.; reply

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pak31 says:: Why are humans going into territory that belongs to animals that can kill them????? Enjoy it from afar. Life is too precious to waste.; reply

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DenverBroncofan says:: Guess they didn't have their bear spray handy; reply

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singlepayer4all says:

It was not a british man, he was 17. Anyway, iv seen the map where they were, this is a cluster of islands in no mans land almost at the very top of the north pole, we have no bussines being there, yet we killed the Bear. When are humans going to understand that we dont own this planet, it owns us, and we should respect all animals.


pak31 replies:: linkicon reporticon emailicon; Thank You singlepayer, what ever the circumstances, you go into unmanned territory then you are on your own. That is not your space. It is really dumb to go into an area of the world that isn't ours.