Polar Bear Spotted in Iceland for First Time in 8 Years, Shot by Police

Photo : AP

A polar bear that made a rare appearance in a remote Icelandic village was shot by police after being deemed a threat to local residents. The incident occurred on September 19 in northwest Iceland, following consultations with the Environment Agency, which decided against relocating the bear.

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Westfjords police chief Helgi Jensson described the situation, noting that the bear had wandered close to a summer house where an elderly woman was staying. In fear, she locked herself upstairs while the bear rummaged through her garbage. She managed to contact her daughter in Reykjavik for help using a satellite link.

“She stayed there,” Jensson said, highlighting that other summer residents had already left the area and the woman understood the potential danger. 

Polar bears are not native to Iceland but occasionally drift ashore from Greenland on ice floes. The bear that was shot was the first sighted in Iceland since 2016, with only about 600 documented sightings since the ninth century. It was estimated to weigh between 150 and 200 kilograms and will be sent to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History for further study. Scientists plan to examine the bear for parasites and infections, assess its organ health and body fat percentage, and possibly preserve its pelt and skull for the institute’s collection.

Although polar bears are a protected species in Iceland, authorities are permitted to take lethal action if they pose a threat to humans or livestock. While polar bear attacks on humans are extremely rare, a study published in the Wildlife Society Bulletin in 2017 indicated that climate change, specifically the loss of sea ice, has led to more hungry bears venturing onto land, increasing the likelihood of human encounters. The study revealed that from 1870 to 2014, there were 73 documented attacks by wild polar bears across Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the United States, resulting in 20 fatalities and 63 injuries.