On September 19, 2024, a rare polar bear appeared in a remote village in northwest Iceland, marking the first sighting in eight years. Unfortunately, the bear was shot by police after it was deemed a threat to local residents, particularly an elderly woman staying alone in a nearby cottage.
Polar Bear Killed in Iceland
The woman, who was at her summer house, locked herself upstairs in fear as the bear searched through her garbage. She managed to contact her daughter in Reykjavik using a satellite phone, who then alerted authorities. Police arrived and, after consulting with Iceland’s Environment Agency, decided to kill the bear to protect the woman and others in the area.
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bears are not native to Iceland but sometimes drift from Greenland on ice floes. The bear, which weighed between 150 and 200 kilograms, will be examined by the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. Scientists plan to study its organs, check for infections, and preserve parts of the animal for further research.
Although polar bears are a protected species in Iceland, they can be killed if they pose a danger to humans or livestock. With climate change reducing sea ice, more polar bears are being forced onto land in search of food, increasing the likelihood of encounters with humans.
From 1870 to 2014, there have been 73 documented bear attacks across several polar bear-inhabited countries, resulting in 20 human deaths. While such incidents are rare, authorities are increasingly concerned about the impact of global warming on polar bear behavior.
