Rare polar bear shot dead by police in Iceland after being thought a threat

jeffw@lemmy.worldmod to News@lemmy.world – 228 points –
Rare polar bear shot dead by police in Iceland after being thought a threat
theguardian.com
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As unfortunate as this is, afaik, polar bears are one of the most aggressive animals around, intent on eating pretty much anything that moves. I don't doubt that it did pose a threat.

Polar bears actually stalk humans, so they're super dangerous.

It's too bad that big oil has fucked up the earth so bad we have to kill them, just because they floated across the Atlantic and landed on a foreign shore..

There are only two species that are still predators of humans and will actively hunt us: polar bears and bangal tigers.

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There's a few things going on here.

I think this particular polar bear is "rare" simply because it happens to have come ashore in Iceland, which doesn't often happen. It's species is merely "threatened".

Also, this isn't wanton wholesale slaughter. This particular animal was a threat to humans and after considering the options euthanisation was determined to be the least bad. As humans, we've observed this practice literally since the dawn of time. We regularly euthanise sharks which have attacked humans, we regularly cull "pests" including large cute ones like Kangaroos, and smaller cute ones like foxes and rabbits.

Encroachment of humans on the habitat's of threatened species is certainly a problem, and one which needs to be carefully managed, but this is not that.

From the article for those not wanting to read it: "Police realized the polar bear was a threat after viewing a documentary, which informed the officers that polar bears are indeed black under their white fur. One officer is quoted as saying 'I feel betrayed and hurt.'

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Of 73 documented attacks by polar bears from 1870 to 2014 in Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia and the United States — which killed 20 people and injured 63 — 15 occurred in the final five years of that period.

The bear shot on Thursday was the first one seen in the country since 2016. Sightings are relatively rare, with only 600 recorded in Iceland since the ninth century.

Shame there isn't some kind of polar bear rescue that can swoop in in instances like this.

It's not like he attacked anyone, he was just a bear doing bear things like rooting through garbage.

One article I read stated that it would be very expensive. Meanwhile the bear would starve in Iceland and the population where it came from is stable. This option they choose is unfortunately the best

Yeah, I get the necessity, I just wish there had been a better option. :(