CORAL HARBOUR - Dino Bruce could hardly believe his eyes while on his way back to Coral Harbour from the floe edge earlier this month.

There on the ice, basking in the afternoon warmth, was a ring seal, only about eight kilometres outside the community.

"I was really surprised to see it because, first of all, seals aren't usually on top of the ice like that, but there it was," said Bruce.

Dino Bruce shooting a ring seal on the ice only eight kilometres from his community earlier this month was a rare occurrence for Coral Harbour hunters. - photo courtesy of Noel Kaludjak

"Secondly, you rarely find seals so close to town at this time of the year.

"You hear about the odd one here and there over the years, but not too often.

"I was lucky to spot it and be able to shoot it."

The seal isn't the only odd thing being observed near Coral this winter.

The floe edge is currently about 20 km south of the community.

As recently as five years ago, it was 40 km from Coral in mid-January.

And even the ice itself seems to be different.

Bruce said Coral has been getting, pretty much, the same outdoor temperatures as always, so it may have something to do with water temperature.

He said local hunters still use a harpoon to check ice thickness by hitting it in one spot until they break through.

"About 10 years ago, if you hit the ice five or six times before you went through, that was pretty solid ice.

"Today, you hit the ice the same amount of times, but it's different.

"It's softer, and you can actually see the waves in front of you from the weight of a snowmobile.

"The past couple of years you seem to feel the ice underneath of you, like how it feels when you're walking on thin ice.

"In the past, you never noticed the ice underneath of you like that."

Coral hunters have to be a lot more cautious now because the ice has become so different from the way they've always known it.

And, with the floe edge being so close to the community, there's a lot less space available on the sea ice when larger groups of hunters gather.

Bruce said hunters return to the community empty-handed from many trips.

He said on a good day, a hunter may land two or three seals.

"There's usually a lot of ring seals on the go in December and January, while January to March is when you see bearded seals the most.

"Last year was pretty good for sea animals, but it's been pretty slow this year, even though the weather conditions are pretty much the same.

"But we're just at the beginning of our hunting season, so things may pick up.

"But, really, any day you get a seal is a good day."