A polar bear attacked a camping website Friday in Norway’s distant Svalbard Islands, killing a 38-12 months-previous Dutch male just before getting shot and killed by onlookers, authorities on the Arctic island stated.
Johan Jacobus Kootte was in his tent when it was attacked by the bear that killed him, deputy governor Soelvi Elvedah mentioned. He was an worker of the Longyearbyen Camping internet site, wherever the assault happened, the newspaper Svalbardposten reported.
Kootte was rushed to the healthcare facility in Longyearbyen exactly where he was declared useless, Elvedah said.
The attack occurred just right before 4 a.m. local time and was becoming investigated. No 1 else was injured, but 6 men and women — a few Germans, a single Italian, just one Norwegian and one particular Finn — had been hospitalized for shock, authorities mentioned.
The polar bear was discovered lifeless in a parking good deal by the nearby airport soon after staying shot by onlookers, the governor’s business office explained in a assertion posted on its internet site.
It was not clear irrespective of whether the polar bear was just one of two animals that had roamed the area earlier this week, the governor’s office explained.
“This is also a strong reminder that we are in polar bear country and need to just take the safeguards to protected ourselves,” Elvedahl later reported. “Polar bears can be identified all over Svalbard and be encountered wherever during the 12 months.”
Past attack in 2015
Svalbard is dotted with warnings about polar bears. Visitors who select to rest outside get stern warnings from authorities that people today need to carry firearms while relocating outdoors of settlements.
Norwegian broadcaster NRK explained the target was the fifth man or woman to have been killed by polar bears because 1971. The past time it occurred was in 2011 when a British teen was killed.
An approximated 20,000-25,000 bears are living in the Arctic.
In 2015, a polar bear dragged a Czech tourist out of his tent as he and other individuals ended up tenting north of Longyearbyen, clawing his back again in advance of becoming driven away by gunshots. The tourist, who was a little bit hurt, was amongst a group of 6 persons on a combined ski and snow scooter trip on the remote islands. The bear was inevitably identified and killed by local authorities.
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