A tourist has been fined NOK 12,500 Norwegian krone (£900) for approaching a walrus in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard.
Authorities said the man went out onto an ice floe Wednesday and “disturbed a walrus that was lying on the ice.”
They said members of the public saw him approach the mammal and reported it to the local governor, and that “parts of the incident were also observed by the governor’s employees.”
There is a law in Svalbard that stipulates that people must behave in a way that does not lead to unnecessary disturbance of wildlife.
The tourist was later taken to the governor’s office, where he accepted the fine.
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“The governor encourages everyone to keep a good distance from the walruses so that they are not disturbed and so that there is no danger to people,” his office said in a statement.
Walruses were hunted virtually to extinction in the Svalbard archipelago until they were protected by law in 1952, according to the government’s Norwegian Polar Institute.
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Despite decades of protection, walrus numbers in the region remain low and they remain on Norway’s National Red List, which identifies species at risk of extinction in Norway.
Starting next year there will be new rules for motorized traffic at sea specifically aimed at protecting walruses, where it will be illegal to knowingly approach closer than 150 meters to them. The speed limit will be five knots for any motorized traffic within a radius of 300 meters from them.