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IKAAHUK/SACHS HARBOUR
Earl Esau was drawn to his window Nov. 6 after hearing strange noises coming from the yard. Looking out, he found a nine-foot polar bear eyeing his husky-cross, Jack.

Numerous polar bears have been spotted around Sachs Harbour this month. There are about 1,200 polar bears in the North Beaufort sub-population. - NNSL file photo

"I opened the window and hollered, 'Hey bear, hey bear,' and it just looked at me and took a swipe at Jack. He started going after Jack so that's when I started shooting," Esau said.

Sachs Harbour has seen an explosion in the number of polar bears in the region. Since October, 10 polar bears have been shot in the area, with four of the kills happening in town boundaries. Normally, the community kills only one or two bears in town each year, according to Toby Halle, renewable resource officer for the Inuvik region.

There are about 1,200 polar bears in the North Beaufort sub-population.

Halle said nature is to blame for the bear problem in the area.

"So what happens is all bears during the summertime, they live on land and they move to the coast and wait for the ice to come in. Well, the ice didn't form on time so more and more (bears) just seem to build up along shore," Halle said. "It's not a common problem to have as many as we have had this year, but we also have never had late ice formation like this."

This past week alone, Esau said he killed three male polar bears. Esau, who lives on the west edge of town, said the polar bear population in the region is "out of whack" this year.

"I can't even remember when we had that kind of polar bear explosion with bears every day or bears every other day," he said. "I haven't seen that for a long time. I mean like a long time."

In response to the problem, Environment and Natural Resources has brought in a second patrol to look for the animals in town. Halle said residents are also doing their own patrols, along with members of the hunters and trappers committee.

Any kills made come out of the 28 hunting tags allocated to the town each season, Halle said, adding six of the tags must be used north of Norway Island. If the community uses up all its tags, he said, accommodations can be made for kills done to defend someone's life or property.

The problem with the bears is expected to persist until the ice starts to form, Halle said Nov. 7. Esau said later that day that the ice was beginning to come in.

"We have a south wind right now coming in, bringing in the ice, so it's starting to pile up," Esau said. "I hope that bears start going out."

By Nov. 9 the ice had formed and the bears were beginning disappear, said Sachs Harbour RCMP detachment commander Byron Donovan.

Still, community members should take precautions to keep polar bears away from the town, Halle said.

"The best thing to do is try not to leave your garbage sitting outside. When the trash man comes, that's when you put your garbage out. Don't overfeed your dogs because dog food often attracts wildlife. Don't let your kids play too far out of earshot or eyeshot," he said. "Be aware we live in bear country and keep an eye out for bears."

Male bears that are killed in self-defence are kept for their meat and distributed to the community. Female bears are given to the hunters and trappers committees, according to Esau.

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