Police in Iceland shoot rare polar bear spotted after years – Times of India
barsharaju@gmail.com
In a shocking incident, a polar bear that made a rare appearance near a cottage situated in northwestern Iceland was shot down by the police. According to reports, the bear was killed, after the authorities consulted the Environment Agency, which advised taking down the bear instead of relocating it. Officially, polar bears are protected under Icelandic law, and it is forbidden to kill one at sea.However, if the creature poses a threat to human life, the authorities are permitted to kill it.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Westfjords Police Chief Helgi Jensson said, “It’s not something we like to do. In this case, you can see in the picture, the bear was very close to a summer house. There was an old woman there.” Allegedly, the old woman locked herself upstairs while the bear searched for food in the garbage.
There are speculations that the bear traveled from Greenland to Iceland via an iceberg. As per reports, a number of icebergs originating from Greenland have been spotted off the Icelandic coast. However, this journey of several hundred kilometers is a little too much, even for a land mammal capable of swimming.
The polar bear weighed between 150 and 200 kg, and authorities have taken the body to inspect it for parasites and infections. Its skull and pelts might be preserved for collection.
Polar bears are extremely rare in Iceland, with the last sightings reported in 2016. A total of 600 have been spotted since the 9th century. A resident of a remote vacation home on the coast in Hofstrand in the Westfjords region had warned the police at the time. And although the number of attacks on humans is few, studies suggest that glacial warming has led to a decrease in sea ice. This change in their habitat has forced bears to hunt for food on land, increasing the chances of encounters between these wild animals and humans.
Of the 73 reported attacks by polar bears between 1870-2014 in Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the United States, one-fourth of those incidents occurred between 2009-2014.
After two bears were sighted in Iceland in 2008, the environment minister appointed a committee to determine the best way to deal with these non-native polar bears. The commission concluded that these bears can’t be allowed to roam around freely as they can kill livestock and humans, and neither can they be transported back due to the high cost. Therefore, killing them was considered the most appropriate response to the situation.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Westfjords Police Chief Helgi Jensson said, “It’s not something we like to do. In this case, you can see in the picture, the bear was very close to a summer house. There was an old woman there.” Allegedly, the old woman locked herself upstairs while the bear searched for food in the garbage.
There are speculations that the bear traveled from Greenland to Iceland via an iceberg. As per reports, a number of icebergs originating from Greenland have been spotted off the Icelandic coast. However, this journey of several hundred kilometers is a little too much, even for a land mammal capable of swimming.
The polar bear weighed between 150 and 200 kg, and authorities have taken the body to inspect it for parasites and infections. Its skull and pelts might be preserved for collection.
Polar bears are extremely rare in Iceland, with the last sightings reported in 2016. A total of 600 have been spotted since the 9th century. A resident of a remote vacation home on the coast in Hofstrand in the Westfjords region had warned the police at the time. And although the number of attacks on humans is few, studies suggest that glacial warming has led to a decrease in sea ice. This change in their habitat has forced bears to hunt for food on land, increasing the chances of encounters between these wild animals and humans.
Of the 73 reported attacks by polar bears between 1870-2014 in Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the United States, one-fourth of those incidents occurred between 2009-2014.
After two bears were sighted in Iceland in 2008, the environment minister appointed a committee to determine the best way to deal with these non-native polar bears. The commission concluded that these bears can’t be allowed to roam around freely as they can kill livestock and humans, and neither can they be transported back due to the high cost. Therefore, killing them was considered the most appropriate response to the situation.
