&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Un-bear-able offence: Boat operator fined $5,255 for waking sleeping polar bear with foghorn")
A boat operator was slashed with a fine of more than $5,000 for blowing a foghorn to wake a sleeping polar bear near Norway, officials confirmed on Thursday. Earlier this month, the vessel was sailing off the coast of the Svalbard archipelago, nearly 620 miles from the North Pole, when the operator disturbed the animal, causing it to move.
“A person on board then used the ship’s foghorn, waking the animal, which moved to another location,” he added. In addition, the governor’s office directed the un-bear-able offender to pay a large fine, totalling $5,255.
Under local rules, “It is forbidden to needlessly disturb, attract or pursue a polar bear." The animal was declared a protected species in Svalbard in 1972. Melting ice has threatened polar bears’ habitats in recent years, but scientists reported in January that bears in the area are thriving and even gaining weight, according to the outlet.
Melting ice threatens habitats of polar bears
In recent years, melting ice has threatened the habitats of polar bears; however, scientists confirmed in January that bears in the area are thriving and even gaining weight. Bison charging at tourists isn't just a Yellowstone phenomenon, it turns out. New footage from Bialowieza Forest in Poland shows a European bison knocking a tourist to the ground as he tries to get back up after an earlier fall.
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While not quite as dramatic, the clip echoes footage from Yellowstone last month, which showed a bison chasing down a tourist and sending him flying into the air. In the Poland incident, TVP World reported that the tourist had deliberately approached the bison, provoking its reaction. He was eventually saved by fellow tourists after the bison got distracted by a passing vehicle. Unlike the Yellowstone victim, who broke his femur and needed a hip replacement, the tourist in Poland escaped without serious injury.
