LONDON (AP) — A uncommon polar bear that was noticed outdoors a cottage in a distant village in Iceland was shot by police after being thought of a risk, authorities mentioned Friday.
The bear was killed Thursday afternoon within the northwest of Iceland after police consulted the Setting Company, which declined to have the animal relocated, Westfjords Police Chief Helgi Jensson instructed The Related Press.
“It’s not one thing we love to do,” Jensson mentioned. “On this case, as you possibly can see within the image, the bear was very near a summer time home. There was an outdated lady in there.”
The proprietor, who was alone, was frightened and locked herself upstairs because the bear rummaged by way of her rubbish, Jensson mentioned. She contacted her daughter in Reykjavik, the nation’s capital, by satellite tv for pc hyperlink, and known as for assist.
“She stayed there,” Jensson mentioned, including that different summer time residents within the space had gone house. “She knew the hazard.”
Polar bears are usually not native to Iceland however sometimes come ashore after touring on ice floes from Greenland, based on Anna Sveinsdóttir, director of scientific collections on the Icelandic Institute of Pure Historical past. Many icebergs have been noticed off the north coast in the previous few weeks.
Though assaults by polar bears on people are extraordinarily uncommon, a examine in Wildlife Society Bulletin in 2017 mentioned that the lack of sea ice from world warming has led extra hungry bears to land, placing them in larger probability of conflicts with people and resulting in a larger threat to each.
Of 73 documented assaults by polar bears from 1870 to 2014 in Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and United States — which killed 20 folks and injured 63 — 15 occurred within the last 5 years of that interval.
The bear shot on Thursday was the primary one seen within the nation since 2016. Sightings are comparatively uncommon with solely 600 recorded in Iceland for the reason that ninth century.
Whereas the bears are a protected species in Iceland and it’s forbidden to kill one at sea, they are often killed in the event that they pose a risk to people or livestock.
After two bears arrived in 2008, a debate over killing the threatened species led the atmosphere minister to nominate a process power to check the difficulty, the institute mentioned. The duty power concluded that killing vagrant bears was probably the most applicable response.
The group mentioned the nonnative species posed a risk to folks and animals, and the price of returning them to Greenland, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) away, was exorbitant. It additionally discovered there was a wholesome bear inhabitants in east Greenland the place any bear was more likely to have come from.
The younger bear, which weighed between 150 and 200 kilograms (300 to 400 kilos), will probably be taken to the institute to check. Scientists took samples from the bear Friday.
They are going to be checking for parasites and infections and evaluating its bodily situation, such because the well being of its organs and share of physique fats, Sveinsdóttir mentioned. The pelt and cranium could also be preserved for the institute’s assortment.
A Coast Guard helicopter surveyed the world the place the bear was discovered to search for others however didn’t discover any, police mentioned.
After the shot bear was taken away, the girl who reported it determined to remain longer within the village, Jensson mentioned
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