Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (July 14/99) - One woman is dead and two more people severely injured as the result of a vicious bear attack at a family's on-land camp this past Friday afternoon at Corbett Inlet, a remote salt water bay about 48 km south of Rankin Inlet.

Hattie Amitnak, 66, of Baker Lake was mauled to death by the bear when she tried to come to the aid of Moses Aliyak, 66, of Rankin Inlet and his 10-year-old nephew Eddie Amitnak of Baker Lake.

Moses and his grandson, 12-year-old Cyrus (Kook) Aliyak of Rankin Inlet, were at the water's edge where their small aluminum boat was located when the bear tried to attack the grandson.

Moses tried to fend the bear off by throwing rocks at it and hitting it with a light aluminum pipe, while his grandson ran back to their tent. The bear was attacking Moses, causing severe lacerations to his head and face, when his nephew, Eddie, tried to come to his aid. The boy was struck by the bear, sustaining severe trauma to the head.

Cyrus showed tremendous courage by managing to stay calm enough to use the party's radio located in the tent. He managed to raise Rosie Oolooyuk at a nearby cabin who notified RCMP of the disaster and helped keep the young boy calm over the radio.

RCMP Const. Steve Halliday said Margaret Amarook, 56, was getting water when the bear attacked and managed to escape unharmed.

"She walked the almost three kilometres to Oolooyuk's cabin to seek help. Despite his injuries,

Moses also managed to walk to Oolooyuk's cabin. This is a tragic story, but it's also a courageous one too, when you look at the actions of these people which prevented any further loss of life," said Halliday.

Three helicopters were used to fly a pair of RCMP officers and two trauma nurses from Rankin Inlet to the scene.

Moses and Eddie were airlifted to a Winnipeg hospital where a hospital spokesperson described their condition as stable Sunday afternoon. Hattie's remains were returned to Baker Lake for burial during the weekend.

The polar bear was later found and destroyed by Baker Lake Renewable Resource officer Gerald Filitre and Rankin Inlet's Dustin Fredlund. The bear was young, estimated at about four to five feet and less than two years of age.

The tragedy marked the third time Moses experienced a hostile encounter with a polar bear and the second time young Eddie was involved in a similar situation.

Emergency measures officer Shaun Maley of Rankin Inlet said young bears like the one involved in this tragedy are when polar bears are at their most dangerous.

"A young bear like this hasn't had the time to learn to be afraid of humans and what makes them even more dangerous is that they are extremely opportunistic," said Maley.

Rankin Inlet Renewable Resource officer Joe Niego said young bears such as this also haven't had time to fully develop their hunting skills, making them more susceptible to attacking humans due to hunger.

"You never know what exactly the bear was thinking," said Niego. "He could have been driven by hunger or maybe he came in contact with these people suddenly and felt threatened, so he attacked.

Polar bears at this age are extremely unpredictable."