In Chilling Video, Man Escapes Polar Bear As It Charges At Him In Norway

A man in Norway's Svalbard archipelago narrowly escaped a polar bear attack by escaping on a snowmobile. The incident took place on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard on April 27, when the man attempted to scare the polar bear away by firing a warning shot, but it charged towards him. He then dropped his rifle and sprinted to a nearby snowmobile, narrowly escaping as the bear gave chase, before speeding to safety. The bear eventually gave up and sat in the snow.

"Very brave guy!", a person says off-camera in the video, while another adds, "Damn, that guy is brave!"

Here's the video:

Polar Bear Crashes Party in Pyramiden

Late Sunday night, a polar bear wandered into Pyramiden, Norway, an old mining town-turned-tourist spot run by a Russian company.

Guests were mid-party at the hotel when the bear showed up. Warning shots didn't scare it off, and one… pic.twitter.com/guYbv4fwoc

— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) April 29, 2025

Rebecca Baack, who filmed the incident, said she was "terrified" as she watched the man narrowly escape the polar bear. Notably, Ms Baack was a visitor staying at a hotel in Pyramiden for a ski expedition, as per USA Today. She credited the man's quick escape to having his snowmobile ready to go. Ms Baack believed the man, possibly a hotel worker, tried to scare the bear with a flare gun, but it backfired and provoked the bear instead.

After escaping on the snowmobile, the man took further shelter in a pickup truck. Meanwhile, the polar bear went underneath the stilted hotel and refused to leave until it had eaten snacks from one of the snowmobiles, despite hotel staff trying to scare it away with truck horns.

Ms Baack also commended the hotel staff for their swift response and effective crowd control, noting they successfully kept around 100 tourists safe inside during the polar bear encounter.

The Visit Svalbard tourism website describes the polar bear as the "King of the Arctic" and "one of the world's largest carnivores. The agency estimates its population to be around 3,000, which exceeds the human population. 

"Polar bears attack extremely quickly without warning. Be accompanied by a local guide with a firearm when leaving the settlements. Adult polar bears vary in size from [440 to 1,763 pounds]. Humans are considered alien in the polar bear habitat, and a polar bear may see us as potential prey. The polar bear is incredibly strong and even cubs weighing under [220 pounds] can be extremely aggressive and dangerous", the website warned.