ULUKHAKTOK/HOLMAN - Canada's first known second generation polar-grizzly hybrid bear shot near Ulukhaktok last month will remain in the community as a potential tourist attraction.

This second-generation polar-grizzly hybrid bear was killed by hunter David Kuptana in Ulukhaktok April 8. - photo courtesy of Colin Okheena

David Kuptana, the hunter who killed the bear as it rummaged through vacant cabins near town April 8, sold the hide to the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment for about $17,000 after wildlife officers with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources completed DNA tests confirming the bear was a mix of the two species.

Kuptana said the council plans to mount the bear and display it at a prominent location within the small Victoria Island community.

"It's good for tourism and for my grandkids to see when I'm gone," Kuptana said from his home in Ulukhaktok. "It would be nice for the new community hall or they might even put it at the airport."

The 51-year-old hunter, born and raised in Ulukhaktok, has eight grandchildren with one on the way. He said he's been hunting all his life and had never before seen such a bear. The male bear had the white fur of a polar bear with a brown underside, brown paws and a brown snout.

Biologists with the department said the DNA tests showed the bear was the offspring of a female polar-grizzly cross and a male grizzly bear, meaning there are more hybrid bears in the wild.

Kuptana said he's seen grizzlies around the high Arctic for a few years now. An American sport hunter shot a first generation hybrid – known as a "grolar" or "pizzly" nearby in 2006.

"There's quite a few of them here now but we don't really know how much," Kuptana said.

"It's a big change for us to see them. They say it's from global warming, so it's big for us. We've even seen some birds that we'd never seen before," such as bald eagles and smaller birds, he said.

"Some people are excited to see some new animals that we haven't seen before, but it's really strange for us."