Cold fact: Bear neighbors of scientists are not so cuddly

Bears outrun humans

"Never run," when confronted by a bear, advises Barrault. Rather, one should "make lots of noise" using something like a starter gun to try and scare the animal away.

"Often, they will turn away, but a hungry bear or a mother with her cub are more dangerous," he said.

Polar bears are a "nightmare" for Dutch ornithologist Maarten Loonen, who has been working at Ny-Alesund for more than two decades, studying migratory geese and Arctic sterns.

"As far as possible, we travel in pairs," he said, freely admitting his fear of the animals. "I tell my students: 'The polar bear views you as potential prey'."

According to Loonen, there were far fewer bears in this western part of Spitsbergen when he first started visiting.

"In 1988, there weren't even any (polar bear) guidelines and I would camp alone and without a gun," he recounted.

Bears mainly occupy the eastern, colder part of Spitsbergen, where there is more ice.

"In recent years, the bears have been exploring new territory," said Barrault, and are "coming closer to Ny-Alesund".

On the last Sunday of July, a female bear and her cub passed right through the village at dawn, but without incident.

There has never been an attack on a resident of Ny-Alesund, and only five fatal confrontations in Svalbard in the past 40 years.

Polar bears mainly feed on seals, but also scavenge on the carcasses of whales, walruses and other animals.

When food is scarce, they may seek out prey like reindeer, rodents or fish, and forage for eggs or even human garbage-which may bring them in conflict with people.