A polar bear was classified as "problematic" Tuesday after attacking a team of documentary filmmakers at a station in northeast Greenland, the Danish military said.
In case of recurrence, he could be shot.
Early Monday morning, the bear managed to stick its head through a badly closed window in a research room where the film crew was staying, about 400 meters away from the small military base in Daneborg.
According to the story of the “Arctic Commando”, a Danish unit stationed there, the animal then bit one of the three men in the hand, before the team managed to scare it away using its alarm pistols.
First transported to Daneborg, the injured documentary filmmaker had to be evacuated to Iceland.
Problems of undernourishment
Already credited with five incidents so far, the bear returned later in the morning, then again overnight Monday through Tuesday, and managed to smash a window in the science room before fleeing, frightened to again by the two survivors.
"Local authorities have now categorized him as a 'problem bear', which allows him to be shot if he returns," said the Arctic Commando in a statement.
The incident comes as northeast Greenland has just suffered a heat wave, with a new record of 23.4 degrees recorded in the region.
According to specialists, the retreat of the pack ice, which is a hunting ground for bears, forces them to stay on land more often and leads to malnutrition problems threatening the species, already classified as vulnerable.
If they remain rare, incidents with humans are increasing, bears approaching homes more regularly, in search of food, according to environmental protectors and authorities.
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