- Germans in Greenland attacked by polar bears
A German researcher was attacked by a polar bear in Greenland. As reported by Greenland's national radio station KNR, the man was attacked by the predator last Friday on the eastern Greenlandic island of Traill Ø. The Greenlandic police confirmed the attack to the German Press Agency. The German was then taken to the Mestersvig station and later to a hospital in Iceland, a police spokeswoman said. His condition was initially critical but was described as stable the day after the attack.
The man was reportedly part of a German research team that was on the island. No other team members were harmed. The institution the scientists belonged to is unclear. According to the Icelandic online newspaper Visir, the injured man was taken to the Landspítali University Hospital in Reykjavik. The polar bear was shot after the attack.
Several incidents this summer
This summer has seen an unusually high number of polar bears near humans and settlements in Greenland. Recently, two young and emaciated male bears had to be shot within a few days after they approached humans in the settlement of Ittoqqortoormiit. One of them was on its way to a soccer field where children were playing. Ittoqqortoormiit is located about 200 kilometers south of Traill Ø.
The polar bear patrol of the conservation organization WWF started its work earlier than usual due to the two incidents. The patrol's main task is normally to keep an eye on the predators between the start of the new school year in mid-August and the start of the bear hunt in January, and to prevent them from entering the settlement in search of food using rubber bullets, among other things.
Theinstitution the German research team belonged to has issued a statement expressing concern about the attack, emphasizing the importance of safety in such remote environments.Other teams conducting research in Greenland have also been advised to exercise caution due to the unusual number of polar bear incidents this summer.
