A white polar bear, spotted in Iceland after a long time was shot because it posed a threat to the locals in the region. According to reports, when the Environment Agency was consulted it was opposed to relocating the bear. Hence it was decided to shoot it down on September 19.
“We did not want to do this. We do not like it at all,” the Associated Press quoted Westfjords Police Chief Helgi Jensson as saying. He explained that the bear was found very close to a summer house where an elderly woman was staying. The woman locked herself on the top floor out of fear while the bear rummaged through her garbage. Terrified, she reached out to her daughter in Reykjavik via satellite link.
Other summer residents had already left the area, and the woman was aware of the potential danger, Jensen said adding, “But she continued to stay there.”
According to Anna Svensdottir, Director of Scientific Collections at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, polar bears are not native to Iceland but occasionally travel on ice floes from Greenland to Iceland’s shores. Several icebergs have been spotted along the northern coast in recent weeks.
The bear shot on September 19 was spotted in Iceland for the first time since 2016, marking only the 600th sighting since the ninth century. Reports estimate the bear’s weight to be between 150 and 200 kilograms, and it will be sent to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History for further study.
According to the report in the Associated Press, while polar bears are a protected species in the country, authorities can take lethal action if they pose a threat to humans or animals.
Comments
0 comment