Inuvik (July 31/06) - Residents of the Beaufort Delta are being warned to watch out for grizzlies after two of the animals were shot this month when they wandered into populated areas.

Hunters and wildlife groups in Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik are reporting more sightings of the bears, who were often travelling with cubs.

Several grizzly sightings are leaving residents of Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk feeling nervous. Here, a sign warns walkers to be careful at Boot Lake in Inuvik. - Philippe Morin/NNSL photo

Several full-size grizzly and black bears have been visiting the Inuvik landfill and scavenging for food. Anyone visiting the dump has been asked to "do what you have to do and get out," according to site manager Rick Campbell.

One bear was shot in the paw on July 4, as it approached an area cabin owner. Another was killed at the landfill by renewable resource officers July 26.

Kathy Mercure, spokesperson for the territorial department of Environment and Resources, said wildlife officers are on nightly watch at the Inuvik landfill.

They are trying to deter animals with bear bangers, loud fireworks.

They will also kill any more bears deemed dangerous to the public.

Ron Morrison, the superintendent for Environment and Natural Resources in the Inuvik region, says there definitely seems to be an increase in sightings.

"I can't recall a time when there were this many bears," he says.

Morrison adds the department is now studying the issue and he cannot speculate on reasons for the upswing.

After all, the sightings could be a statistical fluke, he says. "It could be many different reasons.

Maybe there are more people on the land. Maybe people are travelling further to get caribou. Maybe the animals were displaced by flooding. Maybe it's climate change. We have to be careful not to make assumptions. It could be none of these things. It could be a coincidence."

Morrison adds that population studies are underway to determine if encounters with bears are indeed increasing.

He says there is danger in collecting anecdotes - a sighting here, a footprint there - and drawing any conclusion about the overall behaviour of bears in the territory.

Grizzlies have also been approaching the community of Tuktoyaktuk.

Paul Voudrach, chair of the Tuktoyaktuk Hunters and Trappers Committee, says grizzlies with cubs have been seen within five kilometres of the hamlet.

He says residents should be extremely careful when going out on the land, especially when carrying food for picnics.

"We've seen some tracks right on the edge of the community," he says.

"This is unusual because in the past we never used to see them this close to town."

Voudrach says anyone seeing a grizzly should leave the area immediately.

The species are more aggressive than black bears, and can be violent if provoked, he says.

"Black bears are more timid, they will run away."

He adds that grizzlies are especially dangerous when travelling with cubs and have attacked Tuktoyaktuk residents in the past.

In August 2003, an area woman was bitten three times by a grizzly as she was picking berries at Gungi Creek, about five miles out of town.

Voudrach says he fears something like this might happen again.

"I put out a notice for people to use extreme caution," he says.

Roy Kimiksana, a hunter from Tuktoyaktuk, says the bears were even seen pulling up fishing nets near fishing camps.

"People have seen them with the cubs by the rivers," he says.

Both Voudrach and Kimiksana say the abundance of bears is due to reduced hunting quotas.While hunters used to kill grizzlies indiscriminately in the region to protect reindeer, limits were imposed at the time of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement, signed in 1984.

Voudrach says the program has created an abundance of bears, which could lead to a tragic attack.

"I've put out a notice to the public," he says. "If you see a bear, vacate the area."

Considering grizzlies can weight 400 to 1,500 pounds and have teeth strong enough to gnaw bones, it's advice he says everyone should follow.