The only way was to kill the bear
The polar bear was taken down with one shot. Photo/Westfjord Police
The only way to ensure the safety of people on Höfðaströnd was to kill the polar bear that walked ashore there yesterday. This is what Hlynur Hafberg Snorrason, a senior police officer at the police in Vestfjörður, says in an interview with mbl.is.
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Two policemen who were transported by the rescue boat Kobbi Láki arrived ashore at Höfðaströnd, and shortly afterward the patrol's helicopter arrived at the scene.
"The animal was found on the beach not far from a summer house on Höfðaströnd beach and was killed on the spot. In the summer house, one adult lives there," Snorrason says.
The polar bear at the shore.
"No other recourse"
Asked if it had been decided that the bear would be killed, he says that the goal was to ensure safety in the area and that this was the only way to do so.
"The goal is to ensure the safety of people, and polar bears are dangerous. No one is going to take such animals alive in a helicopter or boat," he says and adds:
"The Environment Agency does not have the equipment needed to capture animals alive, so there are no other resources than this."
Asked what will happen to the carcass of the animal, he says it will be transported to Reykjavík where a natural science laboratory will examine it and take samples.
The polar bear was found on the shore a short way from the farm Höfðaströnd, in Höfðaströnd in Jökulfjörður fjord. Close by the farm, there is a small harbor as can be seen in this photo which was taken three weeks ago. mbl.is/Þorsteinn
The Greenlanders did not want the bear back
After the polar bear had been examined it was determined that it was a cub, either born this spring or the spring before. This is what Þorvaldur Þór Björnsson, a researcher at the Natural History Institute of Iceland, said in an interview with mbl.is.
Björnsson was present when the Coast Guard's helicopter landed with the carcass in Reykjavík last night. It is not yet known whether it is a female or a male, but it will be checked today.
Þorvaldur Þór Björnsson was at the premises when the carcass of the polar bear had been transported to Reykjavík for examination. mbl.is/Eyþór
There will be a general check-up
"There will be a general inspection tomorrow before we decide what will be done," Björnsson says, but several things need to be verified.
"Various things will be checked because the bears are known for being exposed to bacteria that can be dangerous to humans," and he mentions among other things that the bear can carry rabies and bird flu.
A DNA sample will also be taken from the bear and it will be checked which of the Greenland population it is.
The Danes said no
Then Björnsson says that many people get very angry when polar bears are shot, but usually, there is nothing else in the situation.
"I usually have to unplug the phone at night when it's like this because people call who want us not to shoot them but to let them go," he says and adds:
"The thing is, no one wants to accept them. We had talked to a vet in Greenland [when the bear was first seen yesterday], but he said that they didn't want him at all because they have enough animals. Although it is said that they are in danger of extinction, it comes from somewhere else."
The polar bear was transported to Reykjavík last night. mbl.is/Eyþór
He also says that an attempt was made to save a polar bear that came to this country in 2008, but that it was unsuccessful.
"Everything was supposed to be done to get it away, a guard ship was waiting outside and everything, it was supposed to be taken out [...] but they had to be talked to in Denmark on behalf of the Greenlanders and they just said "No, we do not accept this. It can be a sick animal'."
