The polar bear that killed a British teenager and mauled four others last week in Norway was starving and significantly underweight, the Melbourne Herald-Sun reported Monday.
An autopsy of the 250-kilogram bear showed it had not eaten for some time and was significantly underweight, the paper reported.
The results came out as the four injured survivors were airlifted Sunday from Spitsbergen, Norway back to Britain. Their wounds were mainly to the head and face. One was seriously hurt before he managed to fire a fatal gunshot to the bear's head.
The victims were members of a group from the British Schools Exploring Society, which organizes nature tours for young people to polar regions, deserts, mountains and jungles.
The grieving family of 17-year-old Horatio Chapple, who died in the attack, paid tribute to a schoolboy they described as "strong, fearless and kind."
The attack took place in Svalbard, a group of islands home to about 2,400 people and 3,000 polar bears. The Arctic territory attracts well-off and hardy tourists with stunning views of snow-covered mountains, fjords and glaciers.
The death has sparked controversy online as some have posted comments condemning the slaughter of the wild animal, while others wrote that tributes to the bear are offensive to the victims.
According to the Daily Mail, one person wrote: ''If you go camping with polar bears than you shouldn't be shocked when they try to eat you" on a Facebook page that was taken down.
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