Oslo, Norway (Online): Usually humans are scared of the wild animals. But in the Norwegian far-north, an Arctic tourist guide has been fined 1,300 euros for scaring off a polar bear.
When a group of tourists on a snowmobile expedition in May spotted a bear standing still, 900 metres away, their guide decided to approach the predator to take a closer look.
The animal, spotted on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, fled the scene.
The Svalbard governor's office said in a statement, "The regulations say that it is forbidden to approach polar bears in such a way that they are disturbed, regardless of the distance."
Located 1,000 miles from the North Pole and twice the size of Belgium, Svalbard is, according to 2015 state figures, home to nearly 1,000 polar bears, a protected species since 1973.
Five deadly attacks on people have been recorded in about 40 years.
