They are not more than a thousand but the symbol of this territory, twice the size of Belgium and attached to Norway.
It is above all to see them that tourists go to Spitsbergen, in the Arctic Ocean.
But treading polar bear territory is not without risk.
Since 1971, the archipelago, also known as Svalbard, has been the scene of six deadly attacks.
This Monday, a French tourist was attacked in her camp.
Chased away with rifle shots, the bear finally fled.
Wounded by the shots, he had to be shot.
These large animals, Christian Kempf studied them all his life and devoted three books to them.
He now organizes polar expedition cruises for the tour operator Grands Espaces.
Could this attack have been avoided?
How to behave in front of a bear?
From Longyerbyen airport, the administrative capital of this territory, he answers questions from
Le Figaro.
Christian Kempf, organizer of expedition cruises in Spitsbergen Photo presse / Grands Espaces
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LE FIGARO. - A polar bear attacking a camp, is that something you have already witnessed?
Christian Kempf. -
Spitsbergen counts approximately one attack per year.
The bear is a dangerous animal and at night, in a bag, you can easily be mistaken for a seal, which it loves.
A fortiori in summer, when it enters “energy saving” and wanders in search of food.
This is the reason why the prefect asks Norwegians who own huts, or secondary houses, not to go there at this time.
Quite incongruously, tourists can continue to come!
Injured during the intervention, the bear had to be finished off. How could such a dramatic outcome have been avoided?
For me, camping should be prohibited, especially at this time.
We should go see the bears with a vehicle, as we do in African parks for example.
If there is a camp, it must be protected by an invisible wire which triggers a rocket in the event of an intrusion.
The presence of night watchmen - at least two, with an alarm gun - is also essential, in order to spot the arrival of a predator.
At Grands Espaces, we always send someone ashore as a scout before disembarking.
If a bear is in sight, we don't get off the boat.
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Should tourism be limited to this part of the world?
Each year, 100,000 tourists visit Spitsbergen, 60,000 take part in expedition cruises, the other 40,000 stop at Longyerbyen because they are on board large ships that cannot go any further.
This is a figure that is constantly increasing, because the flight is not so expensive.
For 1000 euros, we treat ourselves to Spitsbergen without thinking of harm.
Measures must be taken to better control these flows.
The man enters the habitat of the polar bear, it is normal that there are restrictions.
The prefect already prohibits approaching a bear within 50 meters – and is considering raising this limit to 500 meters.
We often warn about the fate of the polar bear. What is his situation in Spitsbergen?
There are between 22,000 and 25,000 polar bears left in the wild in the world.
According to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), the main threats to the bear are poaching and pollution.
Of the 19 bear populations in the world, 5 or 6 are growing.
This is the case of that of Spitsbergen and the neighboring François-Joseph (Russian) land, which is estimated at around 3,000. The fact remains that 11% of the bears of Spitsbergen do not reproduce, probably due to the pollution of their environment. .
And that they are inexorably threatened by the pure and simple destruction of their habitat, the sea ice.
It loses 90,000 km² per year.
In twenty years, the consequences will be dramatic.