Polar bear attacks camper in his tent and drags him 130ft by his head.

A terrified camper was attacked in his tent by a polar bear and dragged by his head across 130ft of rocks and ice.

Sebastian Plur Nilssen, 22, was resting during a kayak expedition around the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard when the bear struck.

As Nilssen was carried off screaming, his expedition partner, Ludvig Fjeld, 22, grabbed a rifle and fired four shots, killing the bear.

A rescue helicopter arrived at the scene within two hours.

Nilssen, from Fredrikstad, Norway, remained conscious throughout the ordeal last Thursday.

He was airlifted to a hospital, where he underwent surgery on lacerations to his chest, head and neck.

A hospital spokeswoman said his injuries were not life-threatening.

Svalbard officials said the quick actions of Fjeld, from Sarpsborg, Norway, almost certainly saved the life of his colleague.

The two men had previously said they were aware there could be 'a whole lot' of polar bears in Svalbard but hoped to avoid using firearms to keep them at bay.

It remains unclear why the polar bear went on the attack, with some experts speculating that it was either hungry or merely curious.
Polar bears are protected under Norway's strict conservation laws and are allowed to be shot only in self-defence. Experts say it is getting harder for polar bears to find food in the area.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnew...l#ixzz0vZmkuAeq

So polar bears aren't afraid of kayakers.

Polar bears aren't afraid of anything.

A big male Orca might change their mind.

Here is more information on the 7-29-10 attack with photos and a map.
http://www.explorersweb.com/oceans/news.php?id=19544

From the pictures on the link this seems to be a quite hungry polar bear. His body is thinner than other bears seen in pictures. If they're hungry probably they're even less likely to be scaried by warning shots...

As much as I know, the bear was unusually thin, therefore hungry, and aggressive. The guy who was attacked and his buddy who saved his life, were seen about a week later in the Longyearbyen Disco, being the attraction of the night:) Girls loved them, so I was told by friends who were in that disco.
What is still not clear is the fact that their trip wire fence didn't go off when the baer approached the tent. Several possibilities: the bear saw the fence and stepped carefully over it (yes these guys are extremely intellegent!); they forgot to activate the fence, or the fence was faulty and dind't work at all.
I spend 10 weeks this summer in Svalbard...