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Content creator Cecilia Blomdahl documents her undeniably unique life on the icy Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard on YouTube and TikTok — and viewers can’t get enough.
Now, the intrepid influencer has revealed she totes a gun while out and about to stave off an unusual predator.
According to Blomdahl, it’s “not uncommon for polar bears to break into off-grid cabins” in the region. She adds that there was recently a polar bear spotted very close to the local town, so being constantly cautious of the animals is a must.
She said a firearm is a must for “polar bear protection.”
“I’ve never in my 9 years here had to use my rifle,” Blomdahl said. However, she and her husband keep the rifles close by, but typically reach for flare guns when out and about in the wilderness.
She says that the loud sound and blinding light it creates are typically enough to ward off the average ursine.
Inside the town, the protective pieces aren’t allowed, and Blomdahl is explicit that the guns are to be used for “life-threatening situations only.”
In a statement from 2024, the office of the Governor of Svalbard clarified that carrying loaded firearms into shops and public buildings in the town of Longyearbyen is indeed expressly forbidden. However, owning a gun isn’t required by law — but being prepared with something to fend off the predators absolutely is.
Residents in the area must also obtain their guns directly from the governor’s office and must apply before receiving one.
Though polar bear sightings in town are few and far between, locals say they still pose a potential threat.
The TikToker posted another recent video diving into the need-to-know on the island’s fuzzy neighbors.
According to Anne Merete, the station manager at the local Isfjord Radio station, a polar bear broke into the building’s liquor storage and was spotted climbing out of an itty-bitty back window covered in incriminating red wine stains.
Though she lives out in a remote region of Svalbard, the nearest town Blomdahl lives near just so happens to be Longyearbyen, which is infamous for instituting yet another bizarre bill — it’s illegal to die in the settlement.
The ban was put into place back in 1950, when local authorities discovered that due to the frigid temperatures, bodies weren’t decomposing, posing an issue for health and safety standards.
If residents appear to be knocking on death’s door, they are sent to the mainland to be nursed back to health or to be buried.
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