Polar bear kills British tourist in Norway

 

A helicopter was scrambled after a satellite phone call for help

 

A polar bear has mauled a young British tourist to death and seriously injured four others in a remote part of Norway.

A party of around 80 were on a trip with the British Schools Exploring Society near the remote Von Postbreen glacier when the attack took place.
The four injured, who included two leaders of the trip, were being flown to Tromsoe in Norway.
The governor's office in Svalbard district confirmed all those involved were male and had been camping.
She said one of the group shot the bear, and the rest were in shock.
The attack, about 25 miles (40km) from Longyearbyen, took place early on Friday.
Police interviews The BSES, which is based in Kensington, west London, has not released the name of the dead person.
It said the injured men were trip leaders Michael Reid and Andrew Ruck and trip members Patrick Flinders from Jersey, and Scott Smith.
"There were about 80 people all told in the expedition. The young people are all between 16 and 23," a spokeswoman said.

Analysis

Polar bears are, along with the grizzly bears of Kodiak Island, Alaska, the largest living predators on land.
They are also considered to be one of the few wild species that will actively hunt humans.
However, the chance to do so occurs rarely, due to the extreme isolation of their Arctic habitat.
Adult polar bears spend most of their lives alone, ranging over a vast icy landscape, using their acute sense of smell to locate their favoured prey of blubber-rich seals, whales and walruses.
If needs must, they will, like many bears, adapt their behaviour; polar bears have been seen feasting on goose eggs, while one bear has been recorded undertaking an epic nine-day swim to reach new feeding grounds.
As climate change reduces ice cover, there are concerns that more polar bears will become displaced and will move further inland to seek food, bringing them into contact with more people.

Four people injured in the mauling were flown to Longyearbyen hospital and are being airlifted to a hospital in Tromsoe, the governor's office spokeswoman said.

"We got a call via satellite phone from a British group of campers that there had been a polar bear attack and that one person was dead and that others were injured and they needed assistance," she said.
"There are no roads in the area of the Von Postbreen glacier where the incident happened so we scrambled a helicopter."
She also confirmed the five were part of a larger group camping at Von Postbreen and that police were at the scene and were interviewing witnesses.
She said the attack took place in an area popular with tourists, researchers and adventurers and urged those worried about their relatives to call 0047 7902 4305 or 0047 7902 4302.
Earlier this year the office warned people about bear attacks after several were spotted near Longyearbyen.
At the time it reminded people that under local laws, it is illegal to seek out and disturb the animals - with violations punishable by jail or fine.
The UK Foreign Office has said its embassy in Oslo is urgently investigating.
BSES Expeditions is a youth development charity that organises scientific expeditions to remote areas to develop teamwork and a spirit of adventure.
It was founded in 1932 by a member of Captain Scott's final Antarctic expedition of 1910-13.
Polar bears are one of the largest land carnivores, reaching up to 8ft (2.5m) and weighing 800kg (125st).