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Polar Bear
Management
After explorers, whalers, sealers and fur traders began to
penetrate the Arctic in the early 17th century, bears were hunted in ever
increasing numbers. Inquisitive
bears were easily killed as they approached whaling ships or camps, being little
match for men with rifles, and dogs. Bear
numbers steadily declined, but it was not until 1935 that concern for their
apparent over-exploitation was heard.
In
1949, the NWT Game Ordinance required that every hunter or trapper be
licenced. The polar bear could then be taken only by General Hunting
Licence holders, which include all Inuit and Dene, most Metis and a few
other long-time residents. During
the early 1950s, it was estimated that hunters were taking about 400
animals a year, but in the late 50s and early 60s the commercial demand
for hides increased.
At about the same time, mechanized snow vehicles and more sophisticated
weapons became available to the Inuit and kill statistics for bears
escalated alarmingly. It was
feared that such hunting pressure might lead to the depletion of bear
numbers and eventually to their extinction.
 In
1967, scientists from around the world met to discuss the future of the polar
bear. Russia and Norway opted to end polar bear hunting entirely,
and the United States and Denmark limited killing of bears to subsistence
hunters. In Canada, because it was
felt that polar bear populations were not in danger, and because polar bear
hunting is an important part of Inuit culture, management by a quota system was
decided upon. Under the quota,
residents of settlements in areas where polar bears have been traditionally
hunted may kill a total of approximately 600 bears per year.
To
ensure the continued effectiveness of the quota system, polar bear research is
carried out in the NWT by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Canadian Wildlife Service.
Studies to identify population boundaries and to determine abundance and
sustainable harvest of polar bears are done annually through tagging programs.
Aboriginal hunters turn in the jaws of killed polar bears to Renewable
Resource Officers so that biologists can age the bears and learn more about the
status of populations.
Since
1970, communities may decide to allocate some tags from their annual quota to
sport hunters. Sport hunters pay a
substantial fee for the opportunity to hunt a polar bear.
This fee is distributed between the booking agent, the local Hunters' and
Trappers' Association, the Inuit guide and helpers who assist with the hunt.
In addition, the sport hunters bring additional income to local
businesses and individuals through purchases they make while in the community.
Assuming
hunting is controlled, the greatest danger to polar bears now is the advent of
oil and gas exploration in the north. It
is known from experiments that oil is fatal to bears and a major spill would
likely result in the direct death of many.
It would also lead to the disruption of arctic food chains and polar
bears, as carnivores at the end of the food chain, would suffer.
Hungry bears, deprived of their traditional prey, would become nuisance
bears in camps and settlements. The
result would invariably be more dead bears.
A
hungry bear may stalk a human and a surprised one will often attack in
self-defence. Bears also approach humans simply out of curiosity and
because they are attracted by smells of camps or garbage. Conflicts may result in either injury or fatality to man and
inevitably, the death of the bear.
Even
where polar bears and man are not directly competing for space in the
bear's environment, man's technology is penetrating the bears' domain.
DDT, dieldrin, mercury and other chemicals from urban centres are borne
by winds, spring runoff and summer rains down rivers into Hudson Bay and
the Arctic Sea. Bears
from the most remote regions have been found to carry pollutants in
their body tissue.
It is not yet known what effect such poisons will have on bears. Canada
has committed itself through the 1976 International Agreement on the
Conservation of Polar Bears to manage its bears based upon research.
The bears' survival, however, depends upon more than a commitment by
scientific agencies to management and scientific studies.
The need for effective management has to be recognized and accepted by
all that are concerned with the arctic.
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