Polar bear shot in Icelandic village after close encounter with resident

Although it appeared in sparsely populated areas, the decision to shoot it was made immediately out of fear of the threat it posed. A polar bear emerged in Iceland, where this species is practically non-existent.

The island's authorities decided to shoot the polar bear, which had reached the outskirts of an Icelandic settlement alone. The reason? The animal threatened the safety of one of the summer residents.

Although the area where the animal was found was practically uninhabited, it was considered that it could pose a threat to one resident whose summer house was nearby.

And although local services assure that shooting stray wild animals is not something they do willingly, the Environmental Protection Agency determined that they could not safely transport the animal to another location.

It’s not something we like to do. In this case … the bear was very close to a summer house. There was an old woman in there - convinces Helgi Jensen, the police chief in the Westfjords region, whose words are quoted by the Interia portal.

According to reports from local services, the woman locked herself in the house while the animal searched for food on her property. Frightened, she called her family in Reykjavik. Ultimately, it was the woman's daughter who asked the local police for help.

The bear was shot on Thursday, 19th September. It was the first representative of the species seen in these areas since 2016.

Bears are a protected species in this country and it is forbidden to kill them when they are on sea ice, but the authorities can decide to shoot them if they pose a threat to people or livestock.