Grise Fiord (Oct 18/04) - Polar bear season began in some Northern Baffin communities Oct. 1 and a Grise Fiord woman did not waste any time taking home what was likely this year's first official kill.

Eva Muckpa spotted the female bear on top of the ice while out hunting with her common-law husband Kavavow Kigukpak the day the season opened.

"At first my other half was thinking of using a bow to kill it, but then she was running away and I shot it," said Muckpa.

It took two bullets to bring the animal down. The first bullet went through its stomach.

There was another boat behind the couple, but "we saw it first," Muckpa said.

Shared bounty

Some members of the other group helped cut the animal up and everyone shared the meat.

While she was unsure how old the animal was, Muckpa said its coat had "nice, thick fur."

She plans to clean the coat and use it for Kigukpak's qamutik for his dog team.

It's hard to tell when the first polar bear kill was made in Nunavut this year because the tags are not collected until the end of the season, said Iqaluit wildlife officer Alden Williams.

But Grise Fiord, Resolute, Arctic Bay and Clyde River are likely the only communities to have opened the polar bear season already, Williams said.

Success in Clyde River

In Clyde River, eight-year-old Travis Kautuq was only a day behind Muckpa, having caught a bear on Oct. 2.

Arctic Bay and Resolute did not have any kills reported during the first week of October.