2 polar bears kill Canadian employee at Arctic radar station

An employee who worked at a remote Arctic radar station in Canada’s northern Nunavut territory was killed by polar bears, according to company officials. One of the bears was later killed.

The unusual attack happened on August 9 at a work site owned by logistics company Nasittuq Corporation on Brevoort Island, nearly 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) northeast of Montreal.

“An attack by two polar bears has resulted in the loss of one of our valued employees,” the company said in a statement. “Nasittuq employees responded to the scene and one of the animals was put down.”

Nasittuq is a logistics company which operates radar defense sites on behalf of the Canadian government. The company said it’s supporting the family of the victim, whose name has not been released.

“The safety and well-being of our employees is our highest priority, and we are deeply committed to ensuring a safe working environment,” the company said. “We are working closely with local authorities and regulatory agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident.”

Polar bears are the largest living predators on land but, despite their reputation, attacks on humans are extremely rare. The Human-Polar Bear Conflict Working Group documented 73 polar bear attacks between 1870 and 2014, resulting in 20 deaths.

Experts believe climate change will cause an increase in polar bear attacks as shrinking ice cover forces the animals to move further inland in search of food. This increases the likelihood of contact with humans.

In January 2023, a polar bear chased multiple residents in the community of Wales in Alaska, killing a 24-year-old woman and her 1-year-old son. And in July 2018, a 31-year-old Canadian man was killed in a polar bear attack on Sentry Island in Nunavut.

Prior to that, a starving polar bear attacked a group of British tourists on Norway’s Svalbard archipelago in August 2011, killing a 17-year-old boy and injuring 4 others. In July 1999, a polar bear attacked a group of campers on Rankin Inlet in Nunavut, killing a woman.