GJOA HAVEN - Some trading between neighbour communities means that hunters in Taloyoak can avoid court next year, and a youth in Gjoa Haven got to shoot his first polar bear.

Leon Komangat was one of three lucky people in Gjoa Haven who won polar bear tags for which their Hunters and Trappers Organization swapped narwhal tags with the Taloyoak Hunters and Trappers. Komangat used the tag to bag this 10-foot polar bear, his first. - photo courtesy of Simon Komangat

Last year, Taloyoak hunters exceeded their quota of narwhals. The beasts arrived, everyone went out hunting, and the last men back didn't get a tag for their narwhal. They were charged under the Nunavut Wildlife Act.

It turns out that Gjoa Haven had more narwhal tags than they needed, and a bargain was struck between communities.

Gjoa Haven's Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO) sent eight narwhal tags to the Taloyoak HTO. In return, they got three polar bear tags.

"It was a negotiation between the two HTOs. We really appreciate it, and it was no trouble at all," said Peter Qayutinuak, president of the Taloyoak HTO.

The extra narwhal tags mean that when the narwhal start running, the Taloyoak hunters can get a few more and avoid court in the process.

In Gjoa Haven, a lottery was held for the three extra polar bear tags, and 18-year-old Leon Komangat was a winner. Leon and his father Simon headed out on the land claim his prize.

Leon had never killed a polar bear before, but Simon had 10 under his belt. That experience came in handy during the two-day tracking of the bear.

"We tracked it for two days. At around 3 p.m. of the first day, we got the trail," said Simon Komangat.

They lost the trail at around 8 p.m., camped for the night, and the next morning they were back after Leon's first bear.

At 11:30 a.m., they saw the bear in the binoculars. According to Simon, they made a special approach to get the best shot with Leon's .222.

They got position by the rough ice. That way, when the bear was hit, it should run toward the smoother ice, making for an easier kill.

"It went behind us instead, right to the rough ice," laughed Simon Komangat.

Bear meat was given to the residents of Gjoa Haven, and the skin is on the way to becoming a Komangat family heirloom.

"I told him that since this is his first bear, his mother and I are going to keep the skin. The next one, he can do whatever he wants with," said Simon Komangat.

The bear was more than 10 feet long.