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Killer Polar Bear Mauls Tourists in Norway A group of tourists were attacked by a killer polar bear in Norway on Tuesday, leaving one person dead and several others injured. The attack occurred in the Svalbard archipelago, a group of islands in the Arctic Ocean. The tourists were on a guided tour of the area when the bear suddenly appeared and attacked them. One of the tourists, a 35-year-old woman from Switzerland, was killed in the attack. Several other tourists were injured, including a 28-year-old man from Norway and a 23-year-old woman from Germany. The bear was eventually shot and killed by a group leader with a hunting rifle. The incident is the latest in a series of attacks by polar bears on humans in Norway. In 2011, a polar bear killed a British man on the same island where Tuesday's attack occurred. Polar bears are apex predators that are typically found in the Arctic Circle. They are listed as a threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUCN says that the number of polar bears has declined by as much as 30% in the past 30 years due to climate change. As the Arctic sea ice melts, polar bears are losing their habitat and their ability to hunt seals, their primary prey. The loss of sea ice is also forcing polar bears to come into contact with humans more often, which can lead to dangerous encounters. In response to the increasing number of polar bear attacks, the Norwegian government has implemented a number of measures to protect both humans and bears. These measures include reducing human-bear interactions, providing bear-proof food storage facilities, and educating the public about how to avoid polar bear encounters. Despite these measures, polar bear attacks on humans are likely to continue as long as climate change continues to threaten the polar bear's habitat.
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