Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (Aug 24/98) - Ipeelie Inookee feels pretty lucky these days.

Not only was his name one of the two that was drawn to hunt a polar bear last weekend, but he managed to find and kill a bear -- an eight foot female -- in about 24 hours.

"It was perfect, it couldn't be any better," said Inookee, a seasoned guide who has often led sport hunters around Baffin Island on polar bear hunts.

After learning that he beat out 37 other local hunters and had won one of the two tags, he and Archie Ishulutak, the other winner, got packed and headed about 70 or 80 kilometres into Frobisher Bay on Friday afternoon.

Under the conditions of the summer hunt, the two men each had exactly 48 hours to kill a polar bear. If they returned home unsuccessful, a second lottery would be held.

But the hunters didn't let it get that far.

"We went out on Friday afternoon and my buddy got his polar bear the same day and I got mine Saturday," said Inookee, who added that they saw a total of four bears over the course of their trip.

While the experience of killing his first polar bear was memorable for Inookee, it was made even more so by the fact that it was the first hunt to occur in the summer in at least three decades.

"It's the first time since the late 50s or 60s. They used to go out hunting in the summer," said Jimmy Qaunirq, the vice-president of the Amarok Hunters and Trappers Association in Iqaluit.

He explained that the idea of a warmer hunt was first raised by Baffin hunters last December during the annual meeting of the Hunters and Trappers Associations.

"The motion went ahead to catch two polar bears this summer," said Qaunirq, who added that hunters will have to discuss and vote on the issue again in December if they want to hold another summer hunt next year.

By that time, Inookee's family and friends will have long finished the bear's meat. He said he hopes to be lucky enough to win the tag lottery next year.

"I'd like to try again."