Polar bear fallen in Spitsbergen – reactions – panorama

• A polar bear was shot in Spitzbergen during a cruise trip
• The animal attacked a colleague and was injured in the head; he is now out of danger.
• The man was a member of a team, who should get a leave on the ground. The tourists were not ashore at the time of the attack.

A cruise on a cruise ship in Spitsbergen costs several thousand euros. On its website, the Hapag-Lloyd Cruises company announces an expedition to the region where "polar bear rules the wilderness" and a "true arctic experience" for 5810 euros. On one of these trips, a polar bear was shot down because he attacked a crew member who was on shore leave

. The company is heavily criticized in social networks. The content of the statements is that in principle no cruise ship should enter these areas. For profit, the company would accept that an endangered species like the polar bear be further decimated, they say. "You have to watch as little as the polar bears in your seat in Hamburg," writes a man on the Hapag-Lloyd Cruises Facebook page. The question of whether there will be more landings despite the incident, the company has not responded. "Shame on you – there is no justification, but unfortunately, it seems that there are (still) customers for these questionable cruises in any way …", wrote a user on Facebook. British comedian Ricky Gervais says on Twitter: "Let's go too close to a polar bear in his natural habitat and then kill him if he's too close."

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises said in a statement that we regret very much l & # 39; incident. According to the company, tourists are only allowed to observe polar bears from the boat. Landings to explore the area would always be prepared by the staff to make sure there is no polar bear. This team of four polar bear keepers is specially trained and armed. If a polar bear is sighted, the leave will be immediately stopped, according to the company.

On Saturday, a team leaves the ship to prepare for a landing. An employee was attacked by a polar bear that he had not noticed before, they said. Attempts by his colleagues to hunt polar bears have failed. That's why they had to shoot the polar bear "for reasons of self-defense and to protect the life of the attacked person". The tourists were not ashore at the time of the attack.

The cruise ship "MS Bremen" was on the road near Spitsbergen on Saturday. The polar bear guards had gone ashore, where he came to the attack by the animal. Here, a man was injured in the head, according to the tour operator. He is accessible and saves the mortal danger. "But he remains for observation at the Tromsø hospital," said a spokesman for the company. Police investigate the case. The shot bear must be autopsied at Longyearbyen. The ship had continued its journey Saturday night.

Spitsbergen is a group of islands belonging to Norway. According to a 2015 census, there would be about a thousand polar bears. Authorities in the region regularly warn of the danger posed by polar bears. Five deadly attacks have been recorded over the last four decades. In 2015, a polar bear wounded a Czech who wanted to observe a total eclipse. The last deadly attack of a polar bear occurred in 2011, when a British student was killed. Polar bears are threatened with extinction. It is estimated that there are still between 22,000 and 31,000 animals worldwide.