LONDON (AP) — Authorities reported on Friday that a rare polar bear was shot by police after being deemed a threat in a remote Icelandic village. The incident occurred when the bear was seen rummaging through garbage outside a summer cottage.
The bear was killed Thursday afternoon in northwest Iceland, following police consultations with the Environment Agency, which decided against relocating the animal, according to Westfjords Police Chief Helgi Jensson. “This is not a decision we take lightly,” Jensson stated. “The bear was extremely close to a summer residence where an elderly woman was present.”
The frightened cottage owner locked herself upstairs when the bear approached. She contacted her daughter in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, using a satellite link to call for assistance, while remaining aware of the potential dangers, as other summer residents had already left the area, Jensson added.
Polar bears are not typically found in Iceland but occasionally arrive by drifting on ice from Greenland. Anna Sveinsdóttir, the director of scientific collections at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, noted that many icebergs have been observed off the northern coast recently. These polar bears can sometimes venture into populated areas due to changes in their environment, particularly the loss of sea ice attributed to global warming.
Although polar bear attacks on humans are quite uncommon, a study published in the Wildlife Society Bulletin in 2017 indicated that the diminishing sea ice has led to more hungry bears coming ashore, which increases the likelihood of human encounters and conflicts.
From 1870 to 2014, there were 73 documented polar bear attacks in Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the United States, resulting in 20 fatalities and 63 injuries. Notably, 15 of those attacks occurred during the last five years of that timeline. The bear shot on Thursday marked the first sighting of a polar bear in Iceland since 2016, with only 600 polar bear sightings recorded in the country since the ninth century.
In Iceland, polar bears are a protected species, and it is illegal to hunt them at sea. However, they can be killed if they pose a threat to humans or livestock. In 2008, following the arrival of two bears, the environment minister assembled a task force to assess the situation, ultimately advocating for the removal of threatening bears rather than relocating them due to the high costs involved. The task force concluded that the presence of nonnative species posed risks to both people and livestock.
The young bear, which weighed between 150 and 200 kilograms (300 to 400 pounds), was taken to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History for further analysis. Scientists collected samples for testing on Friday and will check for any parasites or infections. They will also assess the bear’s overall health, including organ condition and body fat percentage. The bear’s pelt and skull may be preserved for the institution’s collection.
A Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched to conduct an aerial survey of the area where the bear was found, but authorities reported no additional polar bears were located.
After the bear was removed, the woman who had initially reported the sighting decided to extend her stay in the village, according to Jensson.
