A rare polar bear spotted outside a cottage in a remote Icelandic village has been shot dead by police after being deemed a threat to residents.
The bear was euthanized Thursday afternoon in northwest Iceland after police “previously consulted with the Environment Agency,” which refused to transport the animal, according to the Associated Press. The incident was widely reported on Monday, with CNN reporting.
“It’s not something we like to do,” the police chief said. “In this case, the bear was very close to the cabin. And in it was an old woman.”
The homeowner, who was alone, became frightened and locked herself upstairs while the bear rummaged through the trash, the sheriff said. She contacted Reykjavik via satellite through her daughter and asked for help.
A rare polar bear has washed up on the shores of Iceland. Police have shot it https://t.co/TA5b3lGfkp pic.twitter.com/jLy28BQago
– The Independent (@Independent) September 20, 2024
Traveling with icebergs
Polar bears are not native to Iceland. But they arrive there by traveling on icebergs from Greenland, according to Anna Sveinsdóttir, director of scientific studies at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. In recent weeks, several icebergs have been spotted off the northern coast of Iceland.
Hungry
While polar bear attacks on humans are extremely rare, a 2017 study (published in the Wildlife Society Bulletin) reported that the loss of sea ice caused by global warming has driven more (starving) bears onto land, bringing them into greater contact with humans and posing greater risk to both.
Of the 73 documented polar bear attacks between 1870 and 2014 in Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia and the United States – killing 20 people and injuring 63 – 15 occurred in the last five years of that period.
The bear shot on Thursday was the first to be seen in Iceland since 2016.
A protected species, but…
In Iceland, bears are a protected species and it is forbidden to kill them at sea. They can only be killed if they pose a threat to humans or other animals.
The decision to kill the bear appears to be based on an incident in 2008, when two stray bears arrived. A task force that studied the matter concluded that the extermination of these stray animals was the most appropriate solution.
The task force concluded that the non-native species posed a threat to humans and animals and that the cost of returning them to Greenland – some 300 kilometres away – was not cost-effective.
The dead bear weighed an estimated 150 to 200 kilograms and carried 400 pounds) and was taken to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History for further research.
A Coast Guard helicopter searched the area for possible more bears but found none.
