The Polar Bear

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As mentioned in an earlier Blog we came across this fellow merrily swimming across Milne Inlet.. Luckily he turned around as the Inuit were hunting Narwhale on the shore he was heading over to. It is a big deal for the Inuit to kill a Polar bear as it is a status of Great Hunter. Although I assume somewhat easier if they are swimming. The men turn the hides into Polar Bear Pants for the winter time. Big street Cred in them..Luckily there is not much market now for Polar Bear Skins so they are not tracked and hunted as much as bygone days by the Inuit . Narwhale however is another matter and the Pond community collectively can “harvest” 580 animals a year. At around $1,000 a meter for the tusk…They do eat some of the rest of the animal and feed some to the dogs…Most of the tusks ship straight to the far East and is a big source of revenue for the community.

On the Way to Milne Inlet #3

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From Pond inlet we travelled due East to Ragged Island at the head of Milne Inlet A secure beautiful anchorage. We spent a tranquil evening. The fog moved in about 0200 and all was still. From Ragged Island we moved South down Milne to Kugluktoo Bay and anchored. We saw our first polar bear swimming along about 3 miles from land!. The Inuit were conducting a Narwhale hunt on the shores and we hoped he/she was not going to head over there to there guns. We backtracked out. It turned round and swam back to the far shore..or so we hope.