Polar bears hit the headlines again this week,  this time, rather than a human venturing into Polar Bear territory one of the great white bears was found wandering into a town in Canada.

A medium-sized polar bear strayed into the Canadian town of St. Anthony, Newfoundland, but unfortunately had to be tranquilized and then eventually put to sleep after a veterinarian determined it was badly injured and unlikely to recover.

Norman said they don't know how the bear got injured, but guessed it could have been caught between shifting ice on the ocean. He said it appeared that the bear had been hurt some time ago because the pads on both of its hind paws were raw and damaged from being dragged and were also infected.

It’s not unusual for polar bears to be spotted this time of year on Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula as the animals follow seals on the ice floes that end up drifting south.

The image of a polar bear floating on a melting ice floe was the key image that started the global warming awareness movement a few years ago.  The image has since caused controversy as some people felt that it was an overly dramatic representation of the actual issue, and misrepresented the dangers to these animals caused by global warming.