Tonight I feel angry and sad. A polar bear was killed after attacking a cruise ship guard, in Svalbard, Norway. It was an act of “self-defense”, said the German cruise-ship operator in a statement. Self-defense, eh? So a bunch of tourists go to the Arctic, in the hope of seeing polar bears in their natural habitat, take risks by going on shore and if anything happens, the polar bear just gets shot. Simple. Self-defense.
Well, no. It’s not that simple. Two weeks ago, I was on a similar cruise. We got on the same beach, we took risks and were escorted by armed guards. This could have happened to us, because of us. And that is why I am angry and sad, because I participated in a business that does not respect nature and wildlife, thinking that by seeing wild animals in their habitat instead of a circus or a zoo, I would help protect them. How wrong I was. I failed them. I failed that polar bear. And tonight my heart cries.
I hope that going forward, the Norwegian government and other countries hosting polar bear populations will take measures to further protect an already endangered species. Let tourists watch the polar bears from the cruise boat, as we did when it was foggy and too risky to land. With good cameras and binoculars, it is possible to observe them safely, from a distance. Safe for us but mostly, safe for them.
Sadly,
Evelyne
Author of The Polar Bear and the Palm Tree
Evelyne Fallows Author 
Dear Evelyn, Your heart and your words are so strong and caring and so right! I saw this article and felt the same way. Please send this post to The NY Times and other publications to reach more people. With love and respect, Deanna
On Sun, Jul 29, 2018, 11:06 PM Evelyne Fallows Author Of The World wrote:
> evelyne fallows posted: “Tonight I feel angry and sad. A polar bear was > killed after attacking a cruise ship guard, in Svalbard, Norway. It was an > act of “self-defense”, said the German cruise-ship operator in a statement. > Self-defense, eh? So a bunch of tourists go to the Arctic” >
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What an excellent idea Deanna, I will do that as I want people to know and be aware. Thank you. Je t’embrasse, Evelyne
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I entirely agree with what you just mentioned. It is the human’s greed that kill, because it’s commercial to exploit this kind of “tourism”, and people don’t think about others in general nor their environment. It’s the same in the Galapagos islands, by going there and walking on the different islands, we (the tourists) bring diseases and disruption! Shame on us the “human kind”
How about self defense for the animals?
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts mailotuszen, I agree with you. We need to be more environmental friendly and respectful, nature is so beautiful and we’re just messing everything up. Share your thoughts and outrage! Have a beautiful day, Evelyne
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What a lovely little piece of writing here. We are all failing a lot of things here on this, our planet… Hopefully we will get smarter about a lot of things before too long…xxxx bisous Cherie.
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Thank you dear (how do you say that in Dutch? 😉 )
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