German cruise liner faces backlash after its employee shot and killed a wild polar bear when it attacked a tour guide in Norway

  • Wild polar bear attacked German cruise ship guard in Svalbard, Norway
  • Another employee shot and killed bear in what was described as 'self-defense'
  • Cruise ship company criticised for deliberately entering polar bear territory
  • The 40-year-old attacked employee suffered head injuries but is stable 

By Afp and Sara Malm for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

The shooting of a polar bear by a German cruise ship employee in the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard has sparked outrage online.

The bear was killed after it attacked another member of the cruise ship's staff, who had gone ashore on Spitzbergen island to check that the area was safe for tourists to disembark.

Among the critics are comedian Ricky Gervais, who hit out at the cruise company for encroaching on the bear's territory in order to entertain tourists, and then shooting it when it attacked.

Killed: The body of the polar bear which was shot by the German cruise ship employee after attacking one of his colleagues lies on a beach on Spitzbergen, Svalbard, an Arctic archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole

Killed: The body of the polar bear which was shot by the German cruise ship employee after attacking one of his colleagues lies on a beach on Spitzbergen, Svalbard, an Arctic archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole

He wrote on Twitter: 'Let's get too close to a polar bear in its natural environment and then kill it if it gets too close. Morons'.

And Gervais was backed by campaigners The Extinction Symbol, who wrote: 'Polar bear killed for acting like a wild animal'.

Another Twitter user asked: 'The moon got a bit close the other day. Are we going to start shooting that as well?'

The incident took place after a tourist expedition from the MS Bremen of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises docked at Spitzbergen on Saturday.

The unnamed 40-year-old had gone ashore to check for polar bears, when he was attacked by one. 

Another 'polar bear guard' from MS Bremen shot and killed the attacking bear in what the company has claimed was 'self-defence'. 

'We greatly regret this incident,' said Hapag-Lloyd Cruises spokesman Moritz Krause.  

The injured employee was flown by helicopter to the local capital Longyearbyen and then on to Tromso on the mainland in the evening, Malmo said.

Tromso hospital told AFP the man's life was not in danger and he was in a stable condition.

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises said it had permission from 'local authorities' to dock.

'Landings are only possible in a few places (in the archipelago),' said Krause, in remarks confirmed by Malmo.

Taken away: The 40-year-old employee who was attacked by the polar bear is seen being airlifted to hospital

Taken away: The 40-year-old employee who was attacked by the polar bear is seen being airlifted to hospital

Usually 'as soon as an animal approaches, the landing stops immediately,' Krause added.

The company said excursions of this nature required staff to check areas before landing and to protect those onboard against polar bear attacks.

Polar bears have been protected in Norway since 1973 and nearly 1,000 were counted on Svalbard during a 2015 census.

The archipelago, roughly twice the size of Belgium, lies about 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from the North Pole.

Five fatal polar bear attacks have been recorded on Svalbard in the last 40 years.

The most recent was in 2011 when a bear attacked a group of 14 people on a trip organised by a British schools association.

A 17-year-old Briton died and four other members of the expedition were hurt before the bear was killed.

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