Iqaluit (May 10/04) - It's difficult to recognize Kootoo Shaw after nine months. The bandages and stitches are gone and a hat covers the scars on his head.

Once he takes off his hat, it's easy to remember what he looked like at Baffin Regional Hospital last September.

Kootoo Shaw, a guide from Kimmirut, is happy to be walking around nine months after surviving a polar bear attack. The bear left these scars on his head. - Neils Christensen/NNSL photos

"I was the one who was attacked by a polar bear," he said.

Shaw was in Iqaluit, May 6 to talk to students about his experience.

Hunters killed bear

In September, while guiding three American hunters outside Kimmirut, Shaw was attacked by a polar bear. The hunters shot and killed the bear and saved his life.

He's now telling his story to others who want to listen. He doesn't mind all the questions people ask about his ordeal. The Qikiqtanni Inuit Association is paying for Shaw to travel to communities to talk to students.

"I like talking about what happened," he said. "It's part of the healing process."

The most asked question is how he managed to survive the attack.

"I still don't know how I survived, but I'm still around and I'm thankful," he said.

"A lot of the teenagers in Kimmirut call me the polar man or polar bear survivor," he added.

The polar bear attacked Shaw's camp in the early morning of Sept. 1. Afterward, the hunters drove him to Kimmirut Health Centre.

From there, he was transported to Baffin Regional Hospital, where he received more than 300 staples in his head, 20 stitches in his back and was treated for two broken ribs.

"I thought I was going to die," he said. "It was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me."

Ripping at his scalp

Shaw still remembers what it felt like to have the polar bear on top of him, ripping at his scalp.

"I could feel his heavy breathing and feel his teeth on the back of my neck. I thought he was going to bite my neck."

For the past nine months, Shaw has been recuperating and spending time with his common-law wife and his two boys.

He plans to start guiding again for the Hunters and Trappers Association.