A boat operator has been fined more than $5,000 for using a ship's foghorn to wake a sleeping polar bear off the coast of Norway.
The incident occurred earlier this month in the Svalbard archipelago, an area located approximately 620 miles from the North Pole. According to officials, the operator disturbed a polar bear that was sleeping on land.
Lars Fause, the governor of the territory, stated that a person on board the vessel used the foghorn, causing the animal to move from its resting spot. The unidentified operator agreed to pay the fine of $5,255.
Local regulations prohibit the unnecessary disturbance, attraction, or pursuit of polar bears, which have been a protected species in Svalbard since 1972. Despite challenges to polar bear habitats due to melting ice, recent scientific reports indicated that polar bear populations in the region are thriving and increasing in weight.