A rare polar bear spotted near a cottage in a remote Icelandic village was shot and killed by police on Thursday, authorities confirmed. The bear was considered a potential threat after being found near the property of an elderly woman, according to Westfjords Police Chief Helgi Jensson.
The decision to kill the bear was made after police consulted the Icelandic Environment Agency, which determined that relocating the animal was not a viable option. “It’s not something we like to do,” Jensson told The Associated Press. “In this case, as you can see in the picture, the bear was very close to a summer house. There was an old woman in there.”
The woman, who was alone at the time, took refuge upstairs in her cottage while the bear rummaged through her garbage. She managed to contact her daughter in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, using a satellite link, and called for help. “She stayed there and knew the danger,” Jensson added. Other summer residents in the area had already left, leaving the woman alone at the site.
While polar bears are not native to Iceland, they occasionally reach the island after drifting on ice floes from Greenland, explained Anna Sveinsdóttir, director of scientific collections at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. Numerous icebergs have been observed off Iceland’s northern coast in recent weeks, potentially contributing to the bear’s arrival.
Although polar bear attacks on humans are rare, a 2017 study published in the Wildlife Society Bulletin indicated that the loss of sea ice due to global warming has driven more bears onto land, increasing the likelihood of human-bear conflicts. Between 1870 and 2014, there were 73 documented polar bear attacks across Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the United States, resulting in 20 fatalities and 63 injuries. Notably, 15 of those attacks occurred in the final five years of that period.
This was the first polar bear sighting in Iceland since 2016, and such encounters are infrequent, with only 600 recorded since the ninth century. Although polar bears are a protected species in Iceland, the law allows for their killing if they pose a direct threat to humans or livestock. It is illegal, however, to kill polar bears at sea.
After two polar bears were killed in 2008, a national debate emerged over whether to continue euthanizing the animals. The environment minister appointed a task force to study the issue. The group ultimately concluded that killing vagrant bears was the most appropriate response, citing the threat posed to people and animals, as well as the prohibitive costs of relocating the animals to Greenland, located 300 kilometers (180 miles) away. They also noted that east Greenland maintains a healthy polar bear population.
The bear, estimated to weigh between 150 and 200 kilograms (300 to 400 pounds), was transported to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History for further study. Scientists collected samples to test for parasites and infections, as well as to assess the bear’s physical condition, including organ health and body fat levels, according to Sveinsdóttir. The pelt and skull may be preserved as part of the institute’s collection.
A Coast Guard helicopter was deployed to search the surrounding area for other polar bears, but none were found. After the incident, the woman who had reported the bear decided to extend her stay in the village, Jensson said.
