If people know one thing about staying in Svalbard then it is that you are required to carry a rifle as soon as you leave the settlement. This is a safety measure towards a potential polar bear attack. To be prepared for a possible encounter we get trained how to shoot a rifle and handle flare guns.
Of course the main objective is to move away from a polar bear as soon as you spot one and keep yourself out of trouble. This is obviously the safest way. But in some situations this might not be possible. Then you try to scare the polar bear away using flare guns and everything that produces a lot of noise. Also gathering in a big group lowers the chance of an actual attack. If all those measures don't help the last option is to kill the polar bear. Still this was the focus of our session at the shooting range today. Since I had never operated a rifle or gun before I was quite exited about this part of the safety course. To be honest handling a firearm is way easier than I expected it to be. At least the guns that UNIS provides are very simple to operate. So in the end everything comes down to the aiming.
As most of the other students I gathered my shots close enough together and passed the test. Even if it is a scary thought to be faced with an attacking polar bear I feel a lot safer now that we went over the way how to react.
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Ulli (Saturday, 16 January 2016 18:38)
Na, hoffentlich brauchst du das nie. Aber spannend ist es auf jeden Fall.
Ulli
Jannis (Sunday, 17 January 2016 19:28)
It sounds nice to hear that you are safe in Spitzbergen!
Karl (Sunday, 17 January 2016 20:02)
Sieht echt cool aus da oben!
Wenn du mir so einen Pelz mitbringst haste einen gut bei mir !:D
Pia (Sunday, 17 January 2016 20:03)
Das hört sich ja sehr aufregend an. Pass gut auf dich auf. Pia
Joe (Monday, 18 January 2016 13:33)
Good luck Nik,
If I ever start complaining about the cold in Bergen, I'll stop and spare a thought for you up North!
Hope it's living up to your expectations so far :)
nordsheep (Monday, 18 January 2016 23:26)
Hey guys,
thank you for all the comments, I'm happy to see that you are following up on my blog!
@ Karl, ich gebe mein bestes ;) Ein Eisbärfell kostet hier im Laden umgerechnet 20.000 €, jetzt hast Du ne Vorstellung was ich dann bei Dir gut hab :P
@ Joe as it looks you guys on the mainland got way colder temperatures... We are between -10 and -4° C right now.
Yours Nik