Person fined after using foghorn to wake sleeping polar bear

A person has been fined for using a foghorn to wake a sleeping polar bear in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, a local official said.

A vessel in a north‑west Svalbard fjord sounded the horn earlier this month, waking a polar bear that had been sleeping on the ground. The individual, who has not been named, was fined 50,000 kroner (approximately £3,890).

The governor confirmed the fine, noting that local regulations forbid needless disturbance, attraction or pursuit of polar bears, a species protected in Svalbard since 1972.

Scientific surveys estimate around 250 polar bears live in the archipelago. Governor Lars Fause said the bear had been spotted sleeping on land and was moved to another location after the foghorn was sounded.

The fine was accepted by the individual. This is not the first penalty for disrupting marine animals in Svalbard. In 2024, a tourist was fined 11,500 kroner (about £900) for approaching a walrus too closely.

Under the Svalbard Environment Act, all traffic must avoid unnecessary disturbance of local wildlife, including polar bears, seals, whales, reindeer and arctic foxes.

For more details, see this related story: Getting too close to a walrus.