Some Inuit men were on a fall caribou hunt south of Igloolik, on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic, when a young polar bear ripped open the door of their Arctic Oven-style tent as they slept.
“One of the scariest [experiences of] my life!” said one of the men, Joe Uttak of Igloolik in a post yesterday on the Facebook group Inuit Hunting Stories. He included a photo of just how close the bear came to them. It was halfway inside the tent when one of the men, identified only as Terry, shot the animal.
Photo: Joe Uttak/Facebook
Most dangerous encounters between humans and polar bears involve young animals. The adolescent bears are curious, and their curiosity and opportunism can quickly escalate into a predatory encounter. Many northerners will stake a dog outside the tent as they sleep. The dog will bark at an approaching bear, giving those inside time to chase it away before it can approach as closely as this one did.
In Canada, each Inuit village has a yearly quota of polar bears that its residents can hunt as part of their traditional culture. Defense kills such as this one come out of the quota of the nearest village.
The location of the incident, marked with a red arrow. Map: WorldMap
