**German Researcher Attacked by Polar Bear in Greenland**
A German man participating in a research team was attacked by a polar bear in East Greenland on Friday. The incident occurred on Traill Island near Mestersvig. The police received the alarm at 11:34 AM, as confirmed by duty officer Anette Ostenfeldt from the Greenland Police to KNR, the Greenlandic National Broadcasting Corporation.
Only one person was injured in the attack and was immediately airlifted to a hospital in Iceland. His condition has been reported as stable as of Saturday, according to KNR.
The polar bear responsible for the attack was shot following the incident. This summer, Greenland has experienced an unusually high number of instances of polar bears coming close to inhabited areas.
In response to this concerning trend, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) initiated their polar bear patrol earlier than scheduled on Thursday. The patrol typically operates from mid-August to January, but this year started early due to several encounters in which polar bears approached humans too closely. Equipped with an ATV (all-terrain vehicle) and rubber bullets, the patrol aims to scare the bears away from towns to avoid tragic confrontations.
Last week, two polar bears were shot after moving alarmingly close to people—one was heading toward a soccer field where children were playing, and the other was wandering around a residential area.
*Source: Ritzau*