Rare polar bear showed up in Iceland, shot dead by police after being deemed 'dangerous'

Sept. 21, 2024, 7:08 a.m.

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Authorities in Iceland confirmed on Friday that they had to shoot a rare polar bear that was sighted near a cottage in a remote village. The bear was considered a threat to the safety of local residents.

The incident took place on Thursday afternoon in the northwest region of Iceland. After consulting with the Environment Agency, police decided to euthanize the animal instead of attempting relocation, according to Westfjords Police Chief Helgi Jensson.

“It’s not a decision we take lightly,” Jensson stated. “As you can see in the image, the bear was very close to a summer house. There was an elderly woman inside.”

The homeowner, who was alone, was understandably frightened and locked herself in the upstairs portion of the house while the bear searched through her garbage, Jensson explained. She contacted her daughter in Reykjavik, the Icelandic capital, via satellite and requested assistance.

“She stayed put,” Jensson said, noting that other summer residents in the area had already left for home. “She was aware of the danger.”

While polar bears are not indigenous to Iceland, they sometimes make their way ashore after traveling on ice floes from Greenland, according to Anna Sveinsdóttir, director of scientific collections at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. In recent weeks, a considerable number of icebergs have been spotted off the north coast.

Although encounters between polar bears and humans are incredibly rare, a 2017 study published in Wildlife Society Bulletin indicated that the shrinking sea ice caused by global warming has forced more hungry bears to seek food on land, increasing the likelihood of conflicts with humans and posing a greater risk to both parties.

According to records from 1870 to 2014, there have been 73 documented polar bear attacks in Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the United States, resulting in 20 fatalities and 63 injuries. Notably, 15 of these attacks occurred within the final five years of this period.

The bear shot on Thursday was the first one spotted in the country since 2016. Sightings are uncommon with only 600 recorded in Iceland since the ninth century.

While bears are a protected species in Iceland and killing one at sea is forbidden, they can be killed if they pose a danger to humans or livestock.

After two bears arrived in 2008, a discussion about killing the endangered species led the environment minister to create a team to research the matter, the institute reported. The team decided that killing stray bears was the most suitable solution.

The group said the nonnative species posed a risk to people and animals, and the cost of sending them back to Greenland, about 300 kilometres (180 miles) away, was expensive. They also found that there was a healthy bear population in east Greenland, which is where any bear was likely to have originated.

The young bear, weighing between 150 and 200 kilograms (300 to 400 pounds), will be taken to the institute for research. Scientists took samples from the bear on Friday.

They will examine the bear for parasites and infections and assess its overall condition, such as the health of its organs and body fat percentage, Sveinsdóttir stated. The fur and skull may be kept for the institute's collection.

A Coast Guard helicopter scoured the area where the bear was discovered to search for others but did not find any, police reported.

Following the removal of the shot bear, the woman who reported it opted to extend her stay in the village, Jensson stated.

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