Polar bears shot as safety concern
Even young animals show strength by shaking shack; 'cubs' up to two metres long
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 15, 2014
TALOYOAK/SPENCE BAY
News stories about six young polar bears shot in Taloyoak since late September have been reported far and wide, with southerners expressing sadness and outrage at the killing of "baby bears."
People in the community, however, deal with the reality of potential dangerous animals wandering the community.
"We don't pay any attention to that," said Bob Lyall, office manager for the Spence Bay Hunters and Trappers Association (HTA). "I can imagine the headline if it was the other way around, if a cute and cuddly bear attacked a person."
The bears were wandering into the community in search of food, said Lyall. Although some published reports call them bear cubs, these bears have been between one and two years old and Lyall describes one as being as much as two metres long.
Lyall's wife had never seen a live polar bear.
"We looked out the window … She said, 'Look, there's a polar bear trying to get into our neighbour's shack.'
"Then it went across the street and looked in someone's window.
"More than one bear came into town like that."
A comment below one online news story demonstrates a southerner's point of view. "There is no valid reason for shooting these cubs. They could have easily been captured, confined and shipped to zoos or other animal rehab centers. Northerners are too quick on the trigger at times."
Lyall emphasizes the justifiable fear people feel when polar bears make themselves at home in the community.
"Even the small ones, people were amazed at the power they had, shaking a little shack around, looking for food."
Another bear was by a construction site near the graveyard, added Lyall.
"The construction workers were taking pictures. They wouldn't get out of the way until they were screamed at."
"Safety first," said Lyall. "That's always the first concern of the association."
Lyall says there have definitely been more bears than usual this year.
The HTA released tags for each kill – the community has a quota of 25. A few of the bears, said Lyall, were young enough that they should have been with their mothers.
"The hunters, the people who made the kills, kept the animals."
The regular polar bear hunt opened Dec. 1 and, so far, there hasn't been any further trouble from bears coming to town.
