Hunting Polar Bear in the Winter

Hunting Polar Bear in the Winter is a guide to hunting one of the most important game animals for Inuit. This book includes advice on preparing for the hunt, avoiding detection by the polar bear, skinning the animal, preserving the meat, and staying safe on the hunt. It also includes information about traditional Inuit hunting methods and reflections on ethical and environmentally friendly hunting.

Supplementary video resources showing actual hunting footage and interviews with hunters, elders, and wildlife officers are available online.

Bilingual English / Inuktitut tumble.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nunavut Arctic College
• Release date: Mar 26, 2024
• ISBN: 9781998364008

Book preview

Cover: Hunting Polar Bear in the Winter by William Flaherty.

Description

A photograph of a polar bear. Its fur is yellowish white and its head faces the camera. It stands on a flat expanse of snow. The sky above is cloudy, and pale yellow and blue. A photograph of someone lying on their stomach on snow. A rifle is propped on a tripod in front of them, and they look through the scope. They wear a white winter coat with fur trim on the hood. A photograph of someone on a snowmobile. They wear a white winter coat, and a rifle is slung across their back. The snowmobile pulls a wooden qamutiik with a crate on it. It drives across a flat expanse of snow. The sky is pale pink. A photograph of 2 large polar bear footprints in the snow. Each has a large pad visible. One has 5 toes visible, and the other has 4. A photograph of two people. Each wears a white winter coat, and has goggles on their forehead. Each holds binoculars to their eyes. In the background is a snowy expanse.

Hunting Polar Bear

in the Winter

Logo: Nunavut Arctic College Media.

Published by Nunavut Arctic College Media

www.nacmedia.ca

Box 600, Iqaluit, nu, x0a 0h0

Text copyright © 2018 by Nunavut Arctic College Media

Design and layout by Inhabit Education © 2020 Nunavut Arctic College Media

Photographs by Sean Guistini © 2018 Nunavut Arctic College Media

Publishing services provided by Inhabit Education.

All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted by any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrievable system, without written consent of the publisher, is an infringement of copyright law.

Isbn: 978-1-897568-53-8

Logo: Nunavut Arctic College Media. Logo: Nunavut.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Hunting polar bear in the winter / edited by William Flaherty.

(Hunter education series)

Text in English and Inuktitut.

Isbn 978-1-897568-53-8 (softcover)

1. Polar bear hunting—Canada. 2. Inuit—Hunting—Canada. I. Flaherty, William, 1965-, editor ii. Title: Hunting polar bear in the winter. iii. Title: Hunting polar bear in the winter. Inuktitut. iv. Series: Hunter education series

Sk295.h86 2017 799.27’786 c2017-906616-1

Hunting Polar Bear

in the Winter

Edited by William Flaherty

Logo: Nunavut Arctic College Media.A photograph of someone on a snowmobile pulling a qamutiik and driving toward the camera on an expanse of snow. To the right is a pile of jagged ice. In the foreground are polar bear paw prints. The sky above is clear. The entire image is in tones of blue.A photograph of a polar bear walking toward the camera. Its fur is yellowish white and its mouth is slightly open. Its front paw is lifted, and it's on a flat expanse of snow. The sky above is cloudy, and pale yellow and blue.

Publisher’s Note

The photographs in this book are from a polar bear hunt that took place among the Belcher Islands, near Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, in March 2017. The text is based on interviews with hunters, Elders, conservation officers, wildlife officers, and government representatives.

Please visit www.nacmedia.ca for video resources to supplement this book, including interviews with the hunters and Elders, and footage of the hunt, and the skinning and dressing of the bear.

A photograph of a polar bear. Its fur is yellowish white and its head is lifted. It stands on a flat expanse of jagged ice and snow. The sky above is grey.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

Preparing for the Hunt

Equipment

Tools

Food, Clothing, and Other Basics

Camping and Overnight Supplies

Emergency Supplies

Your Rifle

Choosing Your Rifle

Preparing Your Rifle

Preparing Your Qamutiik

Preparing Your Snowmobile

Checking the Weather

Traditional Methods of Predicting Weather

Dressing Appropriately

Preparing for Emergencies

Considerations for Camping

Equipment Checklist

Summary

Chapter 2

Understanding the Animal

Background Information about Polar Bears

Senses and Behaviours

How to Locate Polar Bears

Determining Sex, Health, and Age

Sex

Health and Age

Major Observable Differences between Male and Female Polar Bears

Summary

Chapter 3

Hunting Techniques

Approaching the Animal

Taking the Shot

Aiming

Firearm Safety

Other Considerations

Traditional Inuit Skills and Knowledge

Summary

Chapter 4

After the Hunt

Skinning the Animal

The Process

Dressing the Animal

How to Treat the Organs

Parasites and Diseases

Uses for the Animal

Pelt

Meat

Other Parts

Summary

Chapter 5

Reflections on Environmental Stewardship

Summary

Conclusion

Photo Credits

Introduction

Polar bears live throughout the circumpolar North; they can be found in Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Russia, and Norway. Sixty percent of the world’s polar bear populations