Cruise ship guards shoot wild polar bear in 'self -defence'
Cruise ship guards claim they only shot the rare animal because it attacked them.
A German crew sailing in the Svalbard region of Norway met a wild polar bear close to the shore.
The bear, one of an estimated 25,000 living in the Arctic, reportedly approached the ship and would not leave the crew alone, even after they tried to scare it away with loud noises and a signal shot
http://www.startribune.com/cruise-ship-guards-first-tried-to-scare-polar-bear-away/489495601/
.Scientists predict that polar bears could be extinct in the wild by 2100. https://t.co/9JyORMPIE8
— The Dodo (@dodo) July 30, 2018
Hapag Lloyd Cruises, the German cruise ship operator responsible for the crew on board, said they reacted the way they did because they had no other choice: "There had to be an intervention for reasons of self-defense and to protect the life of the attacked person."
The killing of the polar bear has sparked outrage from environmental activists and many other people who don't know why the crew chose to encroach on the bear's habitat in the first place.
Maybe, just maybe, don’t go into their territory? That would help
— Michael (@mnoobs22) July 30, 2018
Seems to me this was completely unnecessary. The cruise ship company should be fined. They should not take people to the shore knowing full well there are bears.
— Dan Poyourow (@DanPoyourow) July 30, 2018
This is sickening!!!! They act like it’s justified!! They are in its territory! Maybe it shouldn’t be a tourist attraction, so they won’t have to shoot one that is defending its territory & contribute to their extinction!
— Jen (@mysticlover1111) July 30, 2018
The governor of Svalbard has said that the crew's actions were justified, but warned that people should "stay as far away as possible to avoid situations that could be dangerous for [them] and for the bear".
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