Polar bear killed after attack on Arctic cruise ship guard

A polar bear was shot and killed in Norway after attacking a polar bear guard.

The Associated Press reported the attack happened Saturday when the guard was leading tourists off a cruise ship on the Svalbard archipelago.

Another ship employee shot the bear.

German Hapag Lloyd Cruises, the ship’s operator, told the AP that two polar bear guards from the ship went onto the island and one of them was “attacked by a polar bear and injured on his head.”

The polar bear was then shot dead “in an act of self-defense” by the second guard, a spokeswoman said.

The injured man was flown to the town of Longyearbyen on Spitsbergen island. His condition has not been made available, but the spokeswoman said he was “responsive.”

She also told the AP that all cruise ships traveling in that region are required to have polar bear guards on board.