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A tourist has been fined £900 for getting too close to a walrus in Norway.
A member of the public alerted local authorities after seeing a man on an ice floe trying to get close to an animal on Norway’s Svalbard archipelago. It is believed he was trying to take a photo of the animal.
Under local law, it is illegal to cause unnecessary disturbance to wildlife in Svalberg, which is located halfway between mainland Norway’s north coast and the North Pole.
The Svalbard Environmental Act protects not only walruses but also other nuisance animals such as polar bears, seals, whales, reindeer and arctic foxes.
The man, believed to be from Poland, was taken to the governor’s office after the incident and fined NOK 12,500, the equivalent of around £900.
“The governor encourages everyone to keep a safe distance from walruses to avoid disturbing them and posing no danger to the public,” the governor’s office said in a statement.
Police prosecutor Magnus Lindal Fredriksen said the incident took place “very close to Longyearbyen, at the bottom of the fjord”. He said the tourists arrived in the area on the same day.
Svalbard’s walruses became protected in 1952 after commercial exploitation over the past three centuries reduced the local population to just a few hundred individuals.
Although the walrus population has steadily increased since this measure was introduced, it remains on the Norwegian National Red List.
The Norwegian government, concerned about the impact on tourism and climate change, has announced stricter regulations to come into force next year. This includes a ban on coming within 150 meters of walruses. Other measures include restrictions on cruise ships and designated landing points.
Svalbard is popular with tourists in spring and summer because the sun does not set on the Arctic plateau during the nights known as the “white nights.”
