A Polar Bear Has Been Shot & Killed By Officials In Canada & Here's What Went Down
The animal was spotted wandering around in Quebec.
A polar bear who was a little too far from its natural habitat has been shot and killed by wildlife officials in Quebec, after it was spotted wandering around in the area of Madeleine-Centre.
On Saturday, May 1, residents of the community in the northern coast of the Gaspé peninsula were told by provincial police to stay indoors and avoid non-essential travel, after a polar bear was spotted nearby.
A warning was issued by the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) at around 1 p.m., after the animal was seen at the site of a former airport in the Madeleine-Centre region.
Locals were told not to approach the creature if they saw it, but were urged to dial 911 immediately if they came into contact with it.
By Sunday morning, a new notice was issued to confirm that it had been located and killed following an aerial search.
An agent of the Quebec Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks said that the animal had been shot, per Narcity Quebec.
"It was shot by MFFP officers around 8:30 this morning. The polar bear is the most dangerous carnivore on the planet. The animal was not in its habitat, was near residences and such, so we weren’t going to take any chances," they said.
Wildlife officials say it was not safe enough to relocate the polar bear to its original habitat.
An expert with Quebec’s wildlife protection agency stressed the danger associated with the animal, telling the Toronto Star, “We’re not dealing with a black bear or a moose or deer in the city, we’re dealing with a polar bear."
They added that it is unclear right now how the bear got to the Gaspé peninsula, but theories include the bear swimming there or taking advantage of some ice.
“They can swim 50, 70, 75 km, they are really good swimmers, but we still don’t know,” the expert explained.
According to Polar Bears in Canada, this country is home to around 16,000 polar bears, which is around two-thirds of the world's total estimated population.
Over 90% of Canada's polar bears live up north, residing primarily in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
The WWF lists polar bears as a "vulnerable" species, due in part to ongoing loss of their sea ice habitat as a result of climate change.
"As their sea ice habitat recedes earlier in the spring and forms later in the fall, polar bears are increasingly spending longer periods on land, where they are often attracted to areas where humans live," the organization explains.