Wandering Polar Bear Shot Dead By Police

A rare polar bear spotted near a collage in a remote town in Iceland was shot by police on Friday.

Authorities killed the polar bear after considering it a threat.

Westfjords Police Chief Helgi Jensson shared, “It’s not something we like to do. 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.”

Polar bears are not native to Iceland but are seen if one takes a trip with ice floes from Greenland.

Take a look at the polar bear below:

A rare Polar Bear showed up on the shores of Iceland. Police shot it! 🤬 

Authorities considered it a threat to residents in Westfjords.

It was the first one seen in the country since 2016. pic.twitter.com/HQhXZBmMF4

— PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE (@Protect_Wldlife) September 21, 2024

Check out what CNN reported:

A rare polar bear that was spotted outside a cottage in a remote village in Iceland was shot by police after being considered a threat, authorities said Friday.

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The bear was killed Thursday afternoon in the northwest of Iceland after police consulted the Environment Agency, which declined to have the animal relocated, Westfjords Police Chief Helgi Jensson told The Associated Press.

“It’s not something we like to do,” Jensson said. “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 owner, who was alone, was frightened and locked herself upstairs as the bear rummaged through her garbage, Jensson said. She contacted her daughter in Reykjavik, the nation’s capital, by satellite link, and called for help.

“She stayed there,” Jensson said, adding that other summer residents in the area had gone home. “She knew the danger.”

Polar bears are not native to Iceland but occasionally come ashore after traveling on ice floes from Greenland, according to Anna Sveinsdóttir, director of scientific collections at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. Many icebergs have been spotted off the north coast in the past few weeks.

Although attacks by polar bears on humans are extremely rare, a study in Wildlife Society Bulletin in 2017 said the loss of sea ice from global warming has led more hungry bears to land, putting them in greater chance of conflicts with humans and leading to a greater risk to both.

A rare polar bear showed up on the shores of Iceland. Police shot it https://t.co/TA5b3lGfkp pic.twitter.com/jLy28BQago

— The Independent (@Independent) September 20, 2024

Per The Independent:

A rare polar bear that was spotted outside a cottage in a remote village in Iceland was shot by police after being considered a threat, authorities said Friday.

The bear was killed Thursday afternoon in the northwest of Iceland after police consulted the Environment Agency, which declined to have the animal relocated, Westfjords Police Chief Helgi Jensson told the Associated Press.

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“It’s not something we like to do,” Jensson said. “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.”