So, apparently there’s a real live polar bear on the loose between Sauðárkrókur and Skagaströnd in the north. Probably took the Iceberg Express over from Greenland, and according to reports he may have been here a while already. This is pretty exciting news since polar bears are relatively uncommon guests around here, and – it must be said – not entirely welcome because they tend to eat things that are alive. Things that move.
A couple of farmers reportedly chanced upon this unusual visitor on the road this morning, just “strolling along, enjoying the fine weather,” according to mbl.is. A welcoming committee has now been dispatched in the form of Iceland’s Finest, who undoubtedly will charge at him with cans of mace yelling GAS! GAS! GAS! at the top of their lungs.
IT’S A FABULOUS DAY FOR A POLAR BEAR OUTING
Truly, one of the most gorgeous mornings so far this season – brilliant sunshine with hardly a cloud in the sky and barely a breeze. On reflection, I bet old Polar is searching for a swimming pool in which to take a dip because with our current sweltering temps of 12°C [54F] he must be pretty warm. Sunrise this morning was at 3.17, sunset due for 11.36.
UPDATE: They killed it. Boo!
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They killed it???? I will not be referring to your country as “Niceland” for awhile.
Aye, dats teh way to deal with it!
Lest Knut rears its head. He got a freaking Wikipedia article, too!
They killed it? Why did they not just ask it into a pool for a swim or something? Oh Niceland.
Warm and sunny here too, scheduled to hit 98f again today. Well, it is June.
If they killed it, they better damned well eat it! What a waste!
Cat, Joe – I know, it’s quite upsetting. Initially they claimed they had to since there was fog up there and they were losing sight of it – they considered it a threat to the lives of the residents. Also, there was supposedly no way to put the bear to sleep, as there was no tranquilizer available. However, now the local vet has disputed all this, claiming he had tranquilizers in his car etc. and criticizing why police didn’t close the road in the area – since apparently loads of people set out to have a look. Seems like our bear was the victim of a series of bad and hasty decisions. 🙁
Jon – not sure what they’ll do with it. Maybe stuff it?
So sad! Police recently shot a male cougar (!) wandering the very urban streets of Chicago. Apparently he had come all the way from South Dakota, looking for a mate. I understand that safety is an issue. But these animals lived here a long, long time before we did. I think people aren’t prepared to handle the shock of inter-species interactions. And it seems we need to get better at it.
Bummer! A victim of panic. And wouldn’t you know they’d kill the beast right after I set a picture of it as my desktop background.
Wow, earthquakes, polar bears…what’s next?
I think the main reason why they killed the bear was that if they would have let it live, there would have been no place to keep it at. Which causes a big problem since they couldn’t just let it wander around like that.
And like alda said, It might be a danger to residents.
Idiots it´s not uncommon for polar bears to show up here once in a while they should know by now what to do ….oh is niceland wants to kill em all …the whales the minks the polar bears…what a bunch of hillbillies
linguaphile – I agree, we need to have better responses to these kinds of cases. Which is something, incidentally, that everyone is in unanimous agreement about here.
tk – how inconsiderate of them! So did you replace your background photo with the one of the dead bear? The one where they’re hauling it up by its legs … *shudder*
Ingi – precisely. There needs to be a response plan in place – I hope they get that organized now.
robert – mokay. Whatever you say.
Polar bear meat is pretty damn poisonous, I don’t think we’ll get to eat it 🙁
Nope, I’m keeping this one for a while, where he’s standing atop a rocky ledge.
I think it was the liver only, due to vitamin A
https://www.ichlache.com/wp-content/2007-04/knutwurst.jpg
Knutwurst now!
When cougars pay a visit to suburban Victoria BC, they tend to be tranquilised and freighted back to the mountains. Shame they couldn’t do something similar with the polar bear.
Graham – I couldn’t agree more.