Svalbard is the land of the polar bear. It is their natural habitat. It’s also true that when you live in longyearbyen, you must carry a rifle with you when you go outside of town. Even if you wanna go hiking just on the mountains that surround the village, you must have a gun or be with someone that has one. The internet makes it seem like polar bears are walking up and down the street in town. While that COULD happen, it’s not a normal occurrence. I lived on Svalbard for parts of 5 months and…

Svalbard is the land of the polar bear. It is their natural habitat. It’s also true that when you live in longyearbyen, you must carry a rifle with you when you go outside of town. Even if you wanna go hiking just on the mountains that surround the village, you must have a gun or be with someone that has one. The internet makes it seem like polar bears are walking up and down the street in town. While that COULD happen, it’s not a normal occurrence. I lived on Svalbard for parts of 5 months and…

* This article was originally published here