Polar bear attacks French tourist in Norway’s Arctic Svalbard archipelago

Authorities in Svalbard, Norway revealed that a French tourist had been victim of a Polar bear attack on Monday, August 8.

The French woman had been attacked by the polar bear in Norway’s Svalbard after going on an expedition with 25 people in the the west of the Norwegian Arctic territory, located approximately 1,000 kilometres from the North Pole.

“A bear entered a camp this morning at around 6:30. am (local time) and injured a French national in the arm,” local police chief Stein Olav Bredli told AFP. “Her life is not in danger,” he added.

“There were shots at the polar bear, which got scared and left the place.”

The French tourist was rescued by helicopter and taken to the hospital in Longyearbyen, the archipelago’s main town.

The wounded animal was later located by authorities and was sacrificed due to the magnitude of the injuries it sustained.

A male polar bear can weigh anywhere between 300 and 600 kilos, while the female weighs roughly half the amount.

To be prepared for a possible encounter with bears, in Svalbard it is mandatory to carry a rifle when leaving urban communities, as reported by Observador.

The news follows reports of Moscow sending veterinarians to help save a polar bear in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk region, that had a can of condensed milk stuck to its mouth, as reported on Wednesday, July 20.

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