Svalbard – Polar bear country
16 June 2007
(We’ll just call this delayed blogging).
At 78 degrees N; a mere 12 degrees from the North Pole – Longyearbyen is as far north in the world as I’ve ever been. I’m here with Alexandra, my oldest.
Svalbard – or Spitsbergen as it’s more commonly known as in English – is polar bear country. A trip out of town requires a rifle for protection. About ten years ago, two students visiting from the mainland, set off to see a friend in Nybyen on the outskirts of Longyearbyen. The friend wasn’t home, so they decided to take a more roundabout, scenic walk back to town. This turned out to be a bad decision. As it was an impulse, they didn’t bring guns and when a bear showed up, one of the girls became dinner. The other girl managed to save herself by jumping down the mountain. According to a story in the paper, the first one had tried to lie still and play dead. That doesn’t work with polar bears. Consider yourselves warned!
Svalbard has strict rules against killing polar bears, though. Self-defence is the only acceptable reason to shoot at these large, Arctic animals. Strict rules must be followed: first, warning shots must be fired to give the bear a chance to come to its senses and turn back. If the bear still advances, it’s you or teddy. A rifle is required; no mere shotgun will do. If you’ve killed a bear, the incident must be reported to the sysselmann (governor of Svalbard) immediately, preferably with witnesses corroborating your story, and the carcass must be surrendered. The governor then launches an investigation.
The sight of guns, even if ever so casually slung across a shoulder, unsettles me somewhat. After all, I come from a country where not even the police carry guns on a daily basis.
Tomorrow Barentsburg, the last remaining Russian settlement up here - quite topical, considering current events.
Tags: Arctic, Norway, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Travel
June 23rd, 2009 at 17:10
[…] is one of four settlements of significant size on Svalbard. In English, this Arctic archipelago is more commonly referred to as Spitsbergen. In reality, […]