Polar Bear Shot in Iceland After Local Encounter

The polar bear that was shot was the first sighting in Iceland since 2016. Such sightings are quite rare, with only 600 recorded in the country since the ninth century.

Authorities reported that police shot a rare polar bear outside a cabin in a remote Icelandic community due to safety concerns.

Westfjords Police Chief Helgi Jensson told AP that police shot the bear Thursday afternoon in northwestern Iceland after the Environment Agency refused its transfer.

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Polar bears are not native to Iceland

“It’s not something we like to do,” Jensson told AP.He noted that the bear was near a summer house where an elderly woman locked herself upstairs, terrified as the bear rummaged through her trash. She contacted her daughter in Reykjavik for help. “She stayed there,” Jensson noted, emphasizing that other residents had left because she understood the danger.

Polar bears are not native to Iceland but occasionally arrive on its shores after drifting from Greenland, says Anna Sveinsdóttir of the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. Recently, observers have spotted many icebergs off the northern coast.

Polar bear attacks are uncommon, but a 2017 study highlighted increasing conflicts linked to global warming, which has caused more hungry bears to venture onto land in search of food. Since 1870, researchers have documented 73 attacks, illustrating the growing interaction between humans and these majestic animals as their habitats continue to shrink due to climate change.

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