Since 1900, there have been 250 documented arrivals of polar bears to Iceland, with a particularly large number (at least 27) arriving during the winter of 1917-1918. Recent arrivals include two bears in 2008, one in 2010, and one in 2011. While some people argue for non-lethal removal of polar bears from populated areas, Icelandic law allows for killing bears if they pose a threat to people or livestock. A few of the polar bears that have been killed in Iceland have been stuffed and preserved in museums to educate people about these Arctic animals.

1. Polar Bear arrivals to Iceland since 1900
The following slide show was made by a
student at F.Su.

2. Total arrivals since 1900
● Since 1900, there have been 250 documented polar bear
arrivals to Iceland.
● In “Frostaveturinn mikli”, or the winter between 1917-1918,
there were at least 27 arrivals.
● Just since the year 2008, at least 4 polar bears have “visited”
Iceland.

3. The most recent bears
● In June 2008, two polar bears arrived to Iceland, one female
and one male. They both came on land up north, in the fjord
Skagafjörður.
● In January 2010, a bear was killed in another fjord, but in the
North-East of the country, Þistilfjörður.
● And finally, in 2011, a polar bear was shot in the West, in
Hornstrandir.

4. What people think
● Many people think that instead of shooting polar bears with rifles and
shotguns, the government should rather catch them and move them in a
cage to their homes or to some place where they don't cause danger.
● Some people always criticize the way humans kills polar bears. They
think that we should rather try to move them out of the country alive. That
makes sense, but in some cases, you simply can't avoid killing the polar
bears.
● It has happened once or twice that these giant animals have been shot
with a sheep gun or some kind of a small gun, which causes the polar
bear a long and a painful death.

5. Laws about shooting polar bears
● In Iceland, there are certain laws about shooting polar beers
when they show up near land.
● In 1993, new laws were agreed about shooting polar bears:
– You can't shoot a polar bear if it's in the sea. It doesn't matter if
it's swimming or just on ice.
– It's legal to capture a polar bear and move it in a cage to some
place where it doesn't bother anyone.
– Although, if a person's or livestock's life is in danger by a polar
bear, then it's legal to kill it.

6. Stuffed polar bears in Iceland
● Most of the polar bears that have been shot in Iceland have
either been thrown away or given out of the country.
● Although, we managed to keep some of them “alive”, or
cleaned and stuffed. In that way, people can see this
magnificent creatures without being in risk.
● In 1993, a polar bear was killed on the sea by a couple of
sailors. Later, it was stuffed and today it's held in a small town
called Bolungarvík. It's just one of few polar bears that have
been stuffed here in Iceland.

7. Stuffed polar bears [pictures]
● Here you can see some stuffed polar bears.

9. Thanks for whatching!