A man has been fined 50,000 Norwegian kroner (approximately €4,550) for waking a sleeping polar bear in Svalbard, Norway. The incident occurred when a ship's crew member used the ship's foghorn to intentionally rouse the bear, which was resting on land in a northeast fjord. Authorities state the bear was startled and moved to another location. Polar bears have been a protected species in Svalbard since 1972 due to declining populations, and local environmental laws prohibit disturbing the archipelago’s wildlife. This is not an isolated incident, as another tourist received a fine earlier in 2024 for approaching a walrus too closely. Svalbard is a significant research area due to its rapidly increasing temperatures, warming at eight times the global average.