CORAL HARBOUR - Twelve-year-old Bradley Kaludjak caught his first walrus and proved he had been listening to his father's gun safety advice while hunting the weekend of July 18.

Twelve-year-old Bradley Kaludjak caught his first walrus near Coral Harbour the weekend of July 18. - photo courtesy of Noel Kaludjak

Bradley’s father Noel Kaludjak said during the excitement of the hunt, Bradley had forgotten to take the safety off his rifle before trying to shoot the walrus.

"The walrus was right there and he was just aiming at it but he never shot it so I was going 'come on, come on, it's right there!'" Kaludjak said. "I told him don’t put the safety off until you're ready to shoot, but I guess he was all excited and he forgot."

Despite the minor setback, Bradley took his shot and caught his first walrus.

"He shot it and I knew right away it was his," Kaludjak said. "That’s the tradition, as soon as somebody wounds it, even if they didn’t kill it, it's theirs."

He said Bradley was happy and proud of his catch, even though Bradley is too shy to talk about it.

"He's a shy boy, a quiet one," Kaludjak said. "He was really happy; he's a pretty good shot, better than me. For his age, he's a very good shot."

Kaludjak said the group corralled the animal close to the rocks so they would be able to find it if it sunk in the water after being killed.

Bradley, his father and other family members on the trip then butchered the meat and brought back it back to town. The group had been hunting about 80 miles south east of Coral Harbour, Kaludjak said.

Kaludjak said Bradley gave some of the meat to his grandmother, but the rest will remain in a freezer until August. Then, the meat will be aged and distributed to family and friends.

"People have to be a little bit patient," he said. "I'll take them out of the freezer in August and when the weather's not so warm and let it age a bit and cut it up and give it to people."

Kaludjak estimated the walrus was about 10 feet long and weighed around 1,500 pounds.

He said his son's excitement was matched only by his own.

"I can't help myself. When there are animals and we're trying to get them I still get excited," he said. "It's hard to stay calm. Some guys do it, but I can't."