While polar bears are a protected species in Iceland and it's forbidden to kill one at sea, they can be killed if they pose a threat to humans.

Polar bears aren’t native to Iceland, though an occasional vagrant arrives from Greenland. So, it was quite a surprise for an elderly resident of a remote village to find one raiding her bins. Panicked,

A rare polar bear spotted near a cottage in a remote Icelandic village was shot by police after being deemed a threat. The bear, which had traveled on ice floes from Greenland, was the first seen in Iceland since 2016.

Icelandic police shot a polar bear near a cottage in northwestern Iceland after consulting the Environment Agency. The bear likely traveled from Greenland on an iceberg and posed a threat to human life.

For the first time in years, a polar bear was spotted on Icelandic soil but within hours, it was deemed a threat and shot by the police on Sept 19. An elderly woman in the remote north-west of Iceland called for help after encountering the animal just metres away from her summer house,

In northwest Iceland, police shot a polar bear deemed a threat after an elderly woman reported its presence near her summer house. The environment agency advised against relocating the animal due to high costs.