Rare Polar Bear Shot in Iceland After Being Deemed a Threat

 

In a rare incident, a polar bear that wandered into a remote village in Iceland was shot by police after it was considered a danger to locals. The bear was spotted in the north-western part of the country, near a summer house where an elderly woman was staying alone. The Icelandic police consulted the national environment agency, which decided not to relocate the animal, leading to its eventual killing.

Helgi Jensson, the Westfjords police chief, explained that the situation was concerning, particularly because the bear was close to the woman's home. She had locked herself upstairs while the bear rummaged through her garbage. She contacted her daughter in Reykjavik for help through a satellite link.

Although polar bears are not native to Iceland, they occasionally drift ashore from Greenland on ice floes. Anna Sveinsdóttir, director of scientific collections at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, noted that many icebergs had recently been seen off the northern coast.

Attacks by polar bears on humans are extremely rare, but a 2017 study found that the loss of sea ice due to climate change has increased the likelihood of bears coming ashore, leading to potential conflicts with humans. The bear spotted in Iceland on Thursday was the first sighting in the country since 2016.

Polar bears are a protected species in Iceland, but they can be killed if they pose a threat to people or livestock. In this case, the bear weighed between 150 and 200kg and will be studied by scientists at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. Samples were taken to check for infections and evaluate its physical health.

A coast guard helicopter searched the area for other bears but found none. After the incident, the elderly woman who reported the bear decided to remain in the village.