Community celebrates with 11-year-old
Northern News Services

Whale Cove (Oct 02/02) - George Okalik of Whale Cove is one proud papa these days.

Okalik's son, Joefrey, was the talk of the community this past month when he brought down his first polar bear at the ripe old hunting age of 11.

The young male bear had wandered too close to the community, and was hanging around the lake just past the hamlet's housing office, when it was spotted by Jimmy Misheralak and Benji Okalik.

The two men ran to George's home, where he and Joefrey were outside working on his boat.

"We grabbed the rifles and the four of us headed out on two Hondas to find the bear," says Okalik, the excitement still evident in his voice as he recants the tale.

"At first we went right past the bear without realizing it because it's pretty rocky out in that direction, then we spotted it on the hill at the local garbage dump.

"When we started to approach it, the bear began running towards the town."

George decided to give Joefrey the chance to down the bear. Although he missed with his first two shots, the young hunter remained calm and the third found its mark.

The bear was about three years old and just over two metres tall.

The four hunters brought the bear back to the community freezer before contacting the Department of Renewable Resources.

George says Renewable Resources initially requested the hide, but the local Hunters and Trappers Association met and decided that because it was a defence kill, the Okalik family could keep the bear skin.

The hamlet will use a tag from this year on the bear.

George says while his son was proud of his first polar bear kill, he wasn't the proudest person in town.

That distinction belonged to someone else.

"Joefrey was proud all right, but his dad was even more proud.

"There were lots of people who came on the local radio to congratulate him and stuff like that.

"Joefrey was the talk of the town for about a week."

In addition to the pride of his son's first kill and the HTO's decision to let the family keep the skin, George says there was another benefit to Joefrey's big day.

"That bear was awful good eating," he says with a hearty laugh.