Norwegians fine boat rider for waking polar bear with horn

Authorities in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in the Arctic fined a person over $5,200 for waking up a polar bear with a boat horn.

The Svalbard governor’s office said in a release Thursday that the incident came earlier this month as the boat floated in a strait separating two of the islands and people aboard saw a polar bear sleeping on land.

One of the people on board set off the horn, jarring the sleeping polar bear into moving. Other people on the boat then notified the governor’s office, which determined the horn was honked on purpose. Officials did not say what type of boat was involved in the disturbance.

Unnecessary disturbances of polar bears are illegal under the Svalbard Environmental Act.

The governor’s office said the fine was paid.