Tuktoyaktuk (Aug 21/06) - A couple of berry pickers from Tuktoyaktuk cut their trip short on Aug. 13 after their daughter spotted a grizzly bear roaming nearby.

Frank Pokiak and his wife Nellie were picking berries on Sunday night, near Reindeer Point and the harbour south of the Beaufort Sea community.

Suddenly, their daughter Verna, who was standing on the opposite shore, spotted a bear.

She called her mother, who was carrying a cell-phone. "She said she saw a brown bear on the hill, so we decided to go back to the beach," said Nellie Pokiak.

When they received the call, the Pokiaks were more than three miles from their boat. Nellie Pokiak said she felt nervous as they walked back.

"It was the longest walk," she said, adding she has encountered bears in the past. One even approached her house in 1998.

While Pokiak said neither she nor Frank saw the bear this time, she said her husband did notice their German shepherd, Nanook, was acting nervously.

When they arrived at the shore, the Pokiaks discovered their boat had washed up on the shore. Luckily, they flagged down some passing boaters, who helped them push it into the water.

Paul Voudrach, chief of the Tuktoyaktuk Hunters and Trappers Association, said encounters like this are becoming common.

"If you go back ten years, we couldn't see tracks of any sort. Now we see bear tracks wherever we go," he said.

Voudrach added he has asked all Tuktoyaktuk residents to carry firearms when they go into the wild, either for loud noises or protection.

"In case of danger, or damage to property, it can be necessary to destroy a bear," he said.

While describing the Pokiak's encounter, Voudrach said he is thankful the bear didn't attack. "The bear was very close," he said.

Voudrach added the animal was probably moving very slowly, and approached the Pokiaks without being heard.

"It was basically just roaming," he said.

While she described the situation as "eerie," Nellie Pokiak said encounters with bears are simply a part of life in Tuktoyaktuk.

She said most times the bears keep their distance.

"I've seen grizzlies quite a few times. We've always been cautious."

She thanked her daughter and her friends, who called her and helped her launch the boat.

"If you get into a situation, you can call for help and it's nice to know someone will come," she said.

Voudrach said this situation should inspire people to use extreme caution.