Shooting Of A Particular Polar Bear In Iceland Raises Concern On Human-Animal Conflict

In a rare and unfortunate incident, a polar bear that drifted from Greenland to Iceland on an iceberg was shot by Icelandic authorities after being deemed a threat to humans. The decision has sparked discussions around the increasing encounters between humans and polar bears due to environmental changes, primarily driven by climate change.

Polar Bear Near Icelandic Cottage Poses Immediate Threat

On Thursday afternoon, a polar bear was spotted dangerously close to a summer cottage in a remote Icelandic village, leading the authorities to take decisive action. The bear was killed after consultation with Iceland’s Environment Agency, which determined that relocating the animal was not feasible. 

Chief of Police in the Westfjords region, Helgi Jensson, expressed regret over the necessity of the action, stating, "It’s not something we like to do." The situation became critical as the bear approached the cottage where an elderly woman was residing alone. Fearing for her safety, she locked herself upstairs while the bear rummaged through garbage outside. The woman reached out to her daughter in Reykjavik via satellite link, seeking immediate help.

A Growing Problem: Polar Bears Drifting to Iceland

Though polar bears are not native to Iceland, they occasionally drift ashore on icebergs from Greenland. According to Anna Sveinsdóttir, director of scientific collections at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, an increasing number of icebergs have been spotted off Iceland’s north coast in recent weeks. These drifting bears are rare, but each encounter raises concerns about human safety, as the bears often arrive starving after long journeys.

A study in the Wildlife Society Bulletin (2017) highlighted that global warming and the resulting sea ice loss have driven polar bears to land, increasing the chances of human-bear conflicts. As their natural hunting grounds shrink, the bears are forced to venture farther in search of food, endangering both humans and the bears themselves.

Polar Bear Decline: Inbreeding and Extinction Threat

The plight of polar bears is worsening due to the rapid melting of sea ice. In 2021, Norwegian scientists discovered that polar bears in the Svalbard archipelago were inbreeding, likely as a desperate measure for survival. Genetic diversity within the population has decreased by 10% between 1995 and 2016, a troubling sign for the species’ future.

Another study conducted in 2020 found that within this century, polar bears could face extinction due to food shortages caused by diminishing sea ice. As ice melts at alarming rates, the bears are losing critical access to seals, their primary prey. Dwindling genetic diversity further increases the risk of extinction, with fewer resilient offspring being born.

Threat to Humans? Increasing Polar Bear Attacks

Despite polar bear attacks on humans being relatively rare, the risk has grown over the years. From 1870 to 2014, 73 documented polar bear attacks occurred across regions like Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the United States. The last five years of that period alone saw 15 attacks, killing 20 people and injuring 63. In more recent incidents, two polar bears killed a worker at a Canadian Arctic radar site, and a woman and her young son were fatally attacked in Wales, Alaska, in 2023.

The bear shot in Iceland last Thursday was the first sighting in the country since 2016. Polar bear encounters are so rare in Iceland that only 600 sightings have been recorded since the ninth century. Despite their status as a protected species, Icelandic law permits the killing of polar bears if they pose a direct threat to humans or livestock.

Debates Over Polar Bear Protection and Relocation

The shooting of polar bears raises ethical questions about the preservation of this endangered species. After two bears were killed in Iceland in 2008, a debate over their protection prompted the government to form a task force to evaluate the situation. The task force concluded that killing bears was the most practical response due to the nonnative status of the species in Iceland, the danger they posed, and the prohibitive cost of relocating them to Greenland, located approximately 300 kilometres (180 miles) away.

Furthermore, the report indicated that polar bears are relatively abundant in east Greenland, making relocation efforts unjustified, especially when considering the dangers posed by vagrant bears arriving in Iceland.

Scientific Study and Preservation of the Icelandic Polar Bear

Following the bear’s death, scientists from the Icelandic Institute of Natural History collected samples for study. These will be used to analyze the bear's health, including checking for parasites, infections, and the overall physical condition. The bear’s pelt and skull may be preserved for future research, adding to the institute’s collection of polar bear specimens.

A Coast Guard helicopter also scanned the area for other bears, ensuring no additional threats were present.

As climate change drives animals further from their natural habitats, the risk to both humans and bears increases. While polar bears are protected species, situations where they pose a direct threat to human safety often result in tragic outcomes.

The balance between protecting vulnerable species and ensuring human safety continues to be a challenging debate, particularly as environmental changes push more wildlife into human-populated areas.