Norway fines man thousands of dollars for disturbing sleeping polar bear with ship

A person in Svalbard received a substantial fine for deliberately disturbing a polar bear. The incident involved sounding a foghorn, which woke the sleeping animal aboard a vessel. Environmental regulations strictly prohibit such unnecessary disturbances of protected polar bears. Svalbard rules mandate specific minimum distances for approaching these animals. Previous fines have also been issued for disturbing other wildlife in the region.