A polar bear, spotted in a remote Icelandic village, was shot by police on September 19 after being deemed a threat to local residents. The bear was discovered near a summer cottage in the Westfjords region, where an elderly woman found herself face-to-face with the predator.
According to Westfjords police chief Helgi Jensson, the woman had locked herself upstairs in her home after the bear rummaged through her garbage. She contacted her daughter in Reykjavik via satellite communication for assistance. “It’s not something we like to do,” Jensson told reporters, explaining that the bear’s proximity to the woman’s house posed an immediate danger. Most residents had already left the area for the season, but she remained, understanding the risk posed by the bear.
Polar bears are not native to Iceland but sometimes drift ashore on ice floes from Greenland. This particular bear was the first to be sighted in Iceland since 2016. The bear, estimated to weigh between 150 and 200 kilograms, will be examined by scientists from the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, who will study it for parasites, infections, and overall health. The pelt and skull may be preserved as part of the institute’s collection.
Although polar bears are a protected species in Iceland, authorities are permitted to use lethal force if the animals pose a threat to humans or livestock. Encounters with polar bears in Iceland are exceptionally rare, with only 600 recorded sightings since the ninth century.
A 2017 study published in the *Wildlife Society Bulletin* suggested that climate change, particularly the loss of sea ice, is pushing hungry polar bears closer to human settlements. The study documented 73 polar bear attacks on humans between 1870 and 2014 across the five polar bear range states—Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the United States—resulting in 20 fatalities.
While this encounter did not lead to human harm, it highlights the growing challenge of managing wildlife as polar bears face increasing threats from a changing environment.
