Boat operator fined over $5K for waking sleeping polar bear

Let sleeping bears lie — or pay up! A boat operator near Norway was hit with a fine of over $5,000 for blowing a foghorn to wake a sleeping polar bear, officials said Thursday. The vessel was sailing off the coast of the Svalbard archipelago, around 620 miles from the North Pole, earlier this month when the operator di

Under local regulations in the region, "it is forbidden to needlessly disturb, attract or pursue a polar bear".

Under local regulations, "it is forbidden to needlessly disturb, attract or pursue a polar bear," which was declared a protected species in 1972.

Under local regulations “it is forbidden to needlessly disturb, attract or pursue a polar bear”, which was declared a protected species in Svalbard in 1972.