Polar bear makes first appearance in Iceland in eight years, police shoot it dead

A polar bear made a rare appearance in a remote Icelandic village earlier this week. The visit by the wild animal was so rare that it was the first bear sighting in the country since 2016. However, its arrival was met with panic and fear, prompting Iceland police to open fire at the bear and kill it. The move was taken after a ‘consultation’ with the environment agency, police claimed, saying “It's not something we like to do.”

The poor animal, which might have most likely drifted ashore from Greenland on ice floes, was deemed a threat to local residents.

News agency Associated Press quoted Westfjords police chief Helgi Jensson as saying, “There was an old woman in there,” who was referring to a summer house in the area. As per reports, the woman was alone in the area and had locked herself up in fear. Other village residents had already left the area, prompting the woman to call up her daughter via satellite link.

Polar bears are not native to Iceland and only 600 sightings have been recorded since the ninth century.

AP reported that the dead bear would now be taken to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History for further study.

There, researchers will examine the wild beast for parasites and infections, assess its organ health and body fat percentage, and potentially preserve its pelt and skull for the institute's collection.

Iceland considers polar bears as protected species but allows their killings if deemed a threat to local residents or livestock.

Instances of attacks on humans by polar bears are rare but studies show that climate change may have played a role in pushing these wild animals towards lands, thus increasing the risk of human encounters.

A study published in the Wildlife Society Bulletin in 2017 revealed that polar bears attacked humans 73 times across the five polar bear Range States — Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia and the United States — from 1870 to 2014.

(With inputs from agencies)