At midnight, a call went out that there was a massive male bear at the town dump. When standing on his back legs, he was estimated to be 14 feet tall! Even the locals said this was huge. The whole town headed out to the dump to see this massive creature. Sure enough, he was there. Safely in their trucks, many locals were able to get within 50 feet of the giant beast. The bear seemed disinterested in the humans, more content on scrummaging for food.
The next morning, we heard the story. "Ahh", I said. "Call me if that happens again. Anytime of the day or night. I'll go!" Sure enough, the next morning the local radio was announcing there was another bear in town, this time at one of the playgrounds on the edge of town. My host quickly found me and off we went! I was going to see my first live polar bear!
We drove around, trying to locate the bear. My host said the bear must be gone because the dogs were not barking. Usually, when there is a bear close by, they start barking frantically. The dogs are often a better forewarning than the conservation officers, who drive around the community constantly looking for bears. In Arviat, because they have such a problem with bears coming into town, they have hired a person who drives around all night, armed and looking for the bears. He's only employed during the months the bears are a problem, which is the time before the sea ice is solid.
Nunavut has more polar bears than any other jurisdiction in the world. Recent estimates put the bear population at about 17,000, many of which are in the Hudson Bay region. When the bears venture into town, they are looking for food. One of the easiest places to find food is where people have piled whale remnants and other food they use to feed their dogs. For a desperate and hungry bear, coming inland for food is one solution, but it can have deadly consequences.
My host suggested we take a drive down to the dump because the bear might have made his way down there. Other people must have thought we had sighted him, because as we drove to the dump, we had a massive convoy of trucks following us! Even in a community where bears are so prevalent, people still drop everything they are doing to see one. I asked a local why this was so, and she said it is because these magnificent creatures are so revered in the Inuit culture.
With my binoculars in hand, I was ready to see my first polar bear in its native habitat! My host suggested I stay in the truck. My co-worker who was with me suggested we get out, but not venture too far. I thought that sounded like a good plan. "Be careful," our host said. "I don't have bear poppers or a shotgun. Stay within sight of the truck. Don't do anything stupid!"
With those words and my heart beating rapidly, we got out of the truck. To the left was a short rise that was blocking our view of the area beyond it. My co-worker suggested we climb that rise, so we'd have a better view of the whole area. That sounded like a great idea, as long as the bear wasn't on the other side of the rise! Our host was shaking her head. "Be careful," she repeated. I wonder if what she really wanted to say to us "southerners" was that this isn't a zoo, this is the wild, and people really can get hurt.
As others started to get out of their vehicles we decided it was okay to climb the rise. If there was a polar bear there, surely with 10 or 15 choices for lunch, our odds of getting back to the vehicle were rising! Just kidding, of course, but having more numbers did make it seem more safe. I wonder if other unseasoned rookies had ever used that same reasoning and later regretted it...
As it turned out, the bear was no where in site. What a disappointment. I didn't want to give up. He must be here somewhere. But once we heard a bear popper go off on the other side of town, we realized that our bear must be on the move again. We'd have to wait until another report on the radio to find his location and start our journey again.
Unfortunately, no more sightings were made in the town or at the dump before I had to leave the next day. However, the following week, we heard that a bear had made his way into town, and as often happens, with deadly consequences. The owners of a house on "polar bear central" (that's what the locals refer to this part of their town as) was awakened by their sled dogs' frantic barking. The owner rushed out to find the bear had killed one of his dogs. He fired a warning shot at the bear but it would not back down, and was going after another dog. The owner shot and killed the bear, a mother bear that likely had cubs.
Female polar bears have their cubs in November and December. As newborns, polar bear cubs are blind and only weigh about 600 grams, making them very vulnerable. They rely on touch, warmth and on their mother's milk to get the antibodies they need to fight disease and develop normally.
In the wild, the survival rate of polar bear cubs is not high. When faced with stressful factors such as not being able to hunt seal pups due to soft ice conditions, male polar bears will often eat their young. As experts say, it's an easy meal.
For this reason, the female bear will usually stay clear of their male counterparts, traveling inland for grasses, berries and remains from human hunting. This is what often brings female bears into communities like Arviat. And while locals try not to kill female bears, in this situation there was no choice. When female bears are killed, the communities' hunting quota for the following year is reduced by a 2 to 1 ration.
Nunavut has more polar bears than any other jurisdiction in the world. Recent estimates put the bear population at about 17,000, many of which are in the Hudson Bay region. This current year the quota for this region is 21 bears. Most of those bears will be harvested on the ice by local Inuit hunters, but some will be killed in the community. Some will also be killed by sport hunters from the south who are willing to pay $20,000 to participate in a traditional polar bear hunt.
While polar bears usually live off their stored fat during ice-free times, the warming of the Arctic waters has extended the time bears are without seals, their main source of food. With hundreds of bears unable to get to their traditional hunting grounds on the sea ice, the unintended killing of polar bears will continue in communities like Arviat.
In Churchill, Manitoba which is just south of Arviat, they have a "polar bear jail" where problem bears are kept until they can be safely returned to the ice flows. In Nunavut, this opportunity doesn't exist. However, polar bear fences are being considered in high contact regions, and there is hope this will be a win-win solution for both the communities and the polar bears.
The picture below is taken from a local newspaper and shows a magnificent and healthy looking bear in our region. Hopefully, there are many more like him and, sooner or later, I'll get to snap his picture myself!
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