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magazine / oct08
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October 2008 issue |
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FEATURE - GRISE FIORD
Cold warriors (Page 6 of 6)
In their Own Words - Dr. Ian Stirling
Polar bear expert Ian Stirling shares his experience and his knowledge of the Arctic bears.
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| Video: Polar Bears International |
Sidebar: The bear facts
Tim Lund spent more than what the average Canadian worker
earns in a year to slay the Arctic’s fiercest predator and return
home with the hide and the video to prove it. But all he’s got so
far is the video.
In May, Lund, a dentist and sport hunter from Montana, paid
$33,500 (not including airfare, permits and other fees) to Grise
Fiord hunter and guide Kavavow Kiguktak to track and shoot a
polar bear. A week later, the U.S. government listed polar bears
as a threatened species under its Endangered Species Act, banning
the importation of hides — including those from animals
already killed.
As of July, Lund’s hide and 19 others belonging to American
hunters were piled in the storage room of Edmonton taxidermist
Richard Page pending the outcome of a lawsuit launched against
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by Safari Club International, an
American hunting group. Page estimates another 40 or so
American hides are stranded elsewhere in Canada.
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‘I think Inuit are realizing there's not a lot they can do to
make the changes needed, and the world community is
not addressing these issues,’ says Mary Simon. |
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), the territory’s aboriginal landclaim
organization, supports a sustainable sport hunt in areas
where bear populations are stable. According to Gabriel
Nirlungayuk, NTI’s director of wildlife, the number of Nunavut
bears has doubled to about 15,000 in the past three decades, so
the ban is not only disappointing but puzzling. “To our knowledge,”
he says, “it’s the first time a species has been listed as
threatened because of climate models and a forecasted decline.”
Roughly 450 polar bears were taken in Nunavut in 2006-07
— 120 by sport hunters and 330 by subsistence hunters. Quotas
are set annually by the Government of Nunavut in partnership
with the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board based on scientific
and traditional Inuit knowledge of Nunavut’s 12 bear populations.
According to government status reports, six populations
are increasing, four may be declining and two (Davis Strait and
Foxe Basin) have unknown status.
Each population is shared among communities that hunt in
the area and tags are distributed by community hunter associations.
Those associations decide how many tags go to local
hunters (about 78 percent) and to sport hunters, who contribute
an estimated $2.5 million in revenue annually, $1.87 million of
which stays in Nunavut. More than two-thirds of sport hunters
are American.
Each winter, three guiding companies, employing nearly two
dozen people, funnel approximately $250,000 into the tiny hamlet
of Grise Fiord. While some guests track wolves and muskox, most
seek an encounter with the great white bear, which can take days
or weeks to procure. Grise Fiord usually gets 35 polar bear tags per
year, one-third of which are allocated for sport. Marty Kuluguktuk,
a hamlet employee and sport-hunt facilitator, says guides are now
pursuing clients in Russia, Europe and Mexico.
— L.G.
top
Online exclusive: Canadian Geographic Photo Club
Join us for an interview with photographer Patrice Halley and get
a behind-the-scenes look into a photo shoot for Canadian Geographic.
By Michela Rosano
| Comments on this article | Leave a comment | I've been to Grise Fiord just after a Narwhal slaughter. It was an amazing sight to see the butchered whales seasoning in the open air and the tusks being cleaned by the bacteria in the water. It is a beautiful, tranquil place.
What happened to the Beluga trapped in the ice was sad. The video made me feel terrible for these whales who are being killed because they can not get away. I know this was some time back but it is still a sad sight. I lived in the north when this was going on.
Having lived in Grise Fiord the portion of the article "Sunlight 24-hour daylight from May to August 24-hour darkness from October to early February" is not correct. The last sun is seen Nov 3rd and then peeks over the horizon on Feb 11th. Between these dates there is about 10 days of twilight before total darkness sets in.
Lisa Gregoire has once again provided your readers with experiences of yet another adventure. She puts you right there along with her. Well done as usual.
Stunning, beautiful photographs!
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