Polar Bear delayed until it wasn't
Bears
In 2018 I decided that it was time to book a polar bear hunt. After talking to several that had done the trip with different outfitters and from different communities, I decided Ameri-Cana was selling the hunt that I wanted. I booked for 2021 and started anticipating the trip.
In late January 2020 I received an email that a spot had opened up for March of 2020 and at a slight discount. I took the offer, accelerated my prep work for the trip that was now only about 6 weeks away....what could possibly go wrong? As we all know the covid chatter started. I stayed in contact with Dan Fredericks told him I was still all in and planning on the trip. As the time got closer it was looking more questionable if the border would be open at go time. My bags were packed with 2 days to go time I got "the call", the community is nervous about this new disease everyone is talking about. Sounds like we are going to give it 2 weeks to go away then there will still be time to get my hunt and the others booked for 2020 in befor the season ends. The "curve" had different plans , not too much flattening happened.
2021 more waiting that turned into another year delay.
The end of 2021 I get firm dates March 2022, supposed to get airline travel schedule by the end of the year....end of year no tickets....community has had 0 cases of covid and isn't sure if they want hunters in 2022, supposed to have an update soon, time passes, still waiting...finally about 4 weeks before go time I get the confirmation it is on, the delay is over, kinda...
Picture when you get back.
Packing for a polar bear hunt round 2. All the proper layers for underneath the heavy outerwear that the community would provide, 2 identical bows prepped and ready just incase something happened to my primary bow at crunch time I could grab either and feel confident, a super sleeping bag that I had on loan from Mad Trapper for 2 years and all the other necessary supplies for the trip.
March 15 I make the 5 hour drive to Ottawa for a March 16 flight north. I was prepared with all necessary documents and the border was a non-issue.
The flight to Grise Fiord was to involve several stops and an overnight on the way. The first flight was to Iqaluit, the monitor says delayed...off to a good start. It only ended up being delayed about 15 minutes, finally heading north for a polar bear hunt. Arriving at Iqaluit the next flight scheduled for 11:30am is now going to be at 4pm....
With the time in the airport I have time to chat with Lyle the other hunter also heading to Grise Fiord. Lyle is from Calgary, but a branch of his business is 15 miles from my house, small world. We also talked with 2 other hunters heading to different communities to hunt bear, one of them was from Sweden, very interesting.
First arctic view of the trip
The next stop was Pond Inlet. While waiting for refueling we find out that Olaf the conservation officer from Grise Fiord is also on the flight and he would be the guy selling us our tags. Talking to Olaf cranked up the anticipation of the trip even more, his stories of bear sightings and numbers fueled the fire.
View as sunset at the Pond Inlet airport
From Pond Inlet the next stop was Arctic Bay, that was a quick stop with no deplaning. We are on to Resolute Bay for an overnight. We are picked up at the airport for the short ride to the "hotel" which has more of a dormitory type set up.
Greeting area at Resolute Bay airport.
Patiently waiting for the rest of the story. Good luck and take lot's of pictures.
The next morning I had failed to notice we jumped time zones and were an hour behind, so with that on top of being anxious to get going I was up way too early. After too much coffee and some breakfast, the call comes, flight is postponed due to weather next update at 9:30. The 9:30 call is still postponed, next update at noon. The noon call says the flight is canceled until the next day....one hunting day gone before we get there.
View outside the cafeteria window.
After a day of doing nothing the following morning is a repeat, flight is delayed, 9:30 call still delayed, noon call says it is time to go. Back to the airport, checked in, find that because the plane is flying on skiis and wheels the weight capacity is limited there is a good chance that all luggage will be delayed to a flight later in the day that isn't even scheduled.....
After arriving in Grise Fiord we find the only piece of luggage that arrived was Lyles rifle case, not to worry the plane was going to make a quick turn and be back with the rest of the luggage....but at least we are finally in Grise Fiord
Grise Fiord is at the blue dot for reference
This has classic written all Over it.
Marty the hunt organizer for the community picked us up and took us to stage our gear at the kinda hotel building in town then to Olafs office to get tags. At this point it is pretty official, I now have a polar bear tag and also a musk ox tag if time allows.
Epic! Keep this coming. That is waaaay up there! Talk about adventure
We meet our guides, I am paired with Kavavow and his son Mike, both very nice soft-spoken guys. Kavavow is the most senior of the 2 polar bear guides in town. It is decided that since my luggage is still a couple hours away that we won't leave town until the following morning....another hunt day gone. Kavavow asks what type of bear I'm looking for, I tell him I'm looking for a ten footer, but knowing full well that I probably won't pass on any mature boar.
Another night of not much sleep due to the anticipation, up early gear ready, heavy outwear laid out ready to go when I get the call. At 9am Mike stops to get my gear to load on the sled and says to plan on leaving soon, at 10am Mike stops back they are going to eat and for me to start getting dressed in 15 minutes...time is dragging, I'm ready to get underway.
Getting better by the post! Keep it coming, Gene!
From this point on I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked, but with the extreme cold and cameras always several layers down to keep warm and trying to video some it was a bit tough to get huge amounts of pictures while we were on the move.
We were off heading out of town, Mike with snowmobile with supply trailer, Kavavow driving the dog team. Our destination was a small cabin that they drag out on the sea ice for bear season as a sort of base camp, it was 37km from town.
The cabin was small but a very nice way to get out of the weather and not have to set up tents on the first or last travel days from or back to town. It is positioned in an area of rough ice and several ice bergs, for fresh ice for water and the beginning edge of the good area where bears hunt seals frequently.
It was about a 7 hour trip to the cabin and weather was deteriorating when we got there with the forecast for the next couple days not looking great. Kavavow said we would glass near the cabin the first night and following morning then depending on weather possibly make a short day trip from the cabin....another weather delay, but I was officially hunting polar bear.
Hey, with the sun out it makes it look warmer. Good luck and be safe. Paul
Few scenery pictures from the cabin, iceberg and surroundings.
Once inside the cabin there were several notes written on the wall of success from quite a few well known hunters some of them being bowsiters also . The notes detailing dates and successes of past hunts with Kavavow and the other guide Jefferey. There was a void of dates for 2020 or 2021
Looks like fun! Is that blood in bottom right of iceberg picture?
The dogs laying under my desk, next to an electric heater, have no idea how good they have it right now!
What if any did Olaf share on population number of bears?
Olaf is a young guy maybe late 20's he was talking about more recent times, bears coming close to town frequently, the locals filling the community quota with ease, stuff like that. I questioned Kavavow and Marty guessing they are both in their 60's. The answer from both without hesitation is there are more bears now then in the past. Kavavow said they were never concerned about bears when out holiday camping as a young man, now it is a constant concern anytime they are out anywhere, even the edge of town.
After a good meal and comfortable sleep we were up pretty early for hunt day one on the ice after almost 5 travel days.
The weather had closed in a visibility was limited to maybe a 1/4 mile or so. Limiting our options greatly, even getting up on the ice berg to glass wasn't going to accomplish much, there was going to be more waiting.
Gene. This may be the best thread of the year. Thank you!!
The guys start cooking breakfast of eggs and bacon to pass the morning. Kavavow steps outside to smoke and yells in "your bear is here"...about half believing him I step out and he points out a dirty yellowish shape on the very edge of our visibility. I ask about size, but even through binoculars Kavavow can't or won't commit to it being a boar or sow. Looking through my binoculars at my first ever polar bear, I think it has the looks of a mature bear, but with nothing around it but white, maybe I'm just hoping. The bear is down wind and is definitely smelling our camp, he starts getting closer then stops, appears to not be in any hurry.
Kavavow says he needs to get closer to the bear or at least see the track before he can call the size, he loads up and heads towards the bear to make an assessment. I'm running in circles not sure what to do, my bow is cased, my instinct is to grab it, but I need to stay fully covered so I don't get frostbite on my fingers and if we are going to pursue the bear I need both bows in the case ready to travel.
Kavavow gets to where he needs to be to identify the bear and starts back, the bear still in view, not too concerned.
What a great adventure. Thanks for sharing your trip with guys that will never get to go. Please more photos, as many as you can. Is that a how-to drawing of the guy taking a dump? Careful, don't freeze any important parts....
When he gets back Kavavow says I guarantee that he is not 10 feet, but he is a nice boar and gave me a very wide size range that he would fall in. I asked his opinion if we should try to get this bear and told him if he said it was a shooter that is what we would do, I was fully trusting his judgment at this point.
In the most calm voice you can imagine he simply said, grab your stuff and we will go look at him and decide....his many years of experience showing through. I'm still struggling with not being ready to shoot, not even having my release on, but keep myself contained enough to realize the potential dangers if we pursue for more than just a couple minutes.
We load up and head off towards the bear, he is moving off by now. We get to under a 100 yards, and I think I'm looking at pretty big bear, but with nothing to ever compare it to I try to keep my impulse to call him a shooter in check. We get to the tracks and jump off to check them out. He is leaving roughly a 9 inch wide front pad track. With the physical size I think I'm looking at, the track size and my certainty that Kavavow would be more likely to under sell the size than exaggerated it....I made the call, the chase is on.
What a great thread. It doesn't seem possible that my polar bear hunts were 15/16 years ago.....and if the front tracks are 9" wide, you're awful darn close to the 10 foot range that you were looking for!! By chance did you also measure the length of the back foot pad?
The bear went a short way into some rough broken ice, he weaved through the chunks of ice for a short distance then stopped and backed up to a chunk of ice and layed down, then dug himself in a bit. By now we are no more than 75 yards from the bear , the dogs are much closer.
Keep it coming Gene! All time Bowsite classic in the making.
The dogs are somewhat baying the bear, but I think the bear is mostly where he is because he wants to be there.
Kavavow gave me the signal to unload and get my bow, with adrenaline overload I start getting my bow out without gloves on, didn't take long to realize that was a bad idea. I got my shooting gloves on put the quick attach stabilizer, quiver and slid my sight bar into position. I handed my video camera to Mike and nocked an arrow that I was getting ready to point at a polar bear.
Gene thought that he was going to be stranded in Resolute until Thursday, so he could spend a lot of today writing the entire story for us. I just got a text from him about 5 minutes ago saying that he might be able to fly out today if he could be ready to go in 10 minutes. Looks like we may have to wait for "the rest of the story"......unless the plane leaves without him, which is doubtful up there.
Holy smokes! This thread is awesome! Can't wait for the rest of the story.
False alarm the charter flight was already full, no room for a hitchhiker
I am enjoying this! Think I'll pour a glass of wine!
Good, now lets get this story finished before you fly out!!
With the bear facing us we had to swing wide to get a broad side shot angle. The first move we went to the left of the dogs towards the bears right side, staying about 30 yards out. When we cleared the dogs we were pretty much straight in front of the bear, he launched from where he was laying and made a one bound bluff charge at us....maybe we should try the other way. We circled around the dogs to the bears left side. To get an angle and be clear of the ice chunks we ended up at 25 yards from the now broadside bear. He was still laying, but offered a plenty big target. I aimed slightly forward of middle of the middle and triggered the most controlled release that could muster with adrenaline cranking and gloves on.
There was a quick flash of orange on the white hide as the arrow disappeared in the spot. The bear lunged to his feet made a circle biting at his side then started staggering, he managed to cover 30 yards before he made his last roll.
When the delay was over it was over quick, action happened fast when it happened. I have the first post pandemic, sport hunted polar bear from Grise Fiord. I had spent more hours flight delayed than I did actually hunting.
What an experience! Congrats again Gene! I’m sure this thread is great motivation for several other Bowsiters headed north soon.
Even with the excitement and adrenaline it wasn't long before heavy outerwear needed to be put back on.
Awesome, congrats to you! Looks like a big one to me.
Amazing adventure. Congrats!!!
Gene. Awesome write up and a great adventure! More exciting than shooting Javelina for sure. Thanks for sharing !!
After the congratulations and photo session the work needed to get done, the bear was already starting to get stiff. I will post a few pics of Kavavow doing what he has done , no doubt hundreds of times.
The bear ended up right at 9 feet and is everything I had hoped for.
Yes, that was blood in the iceberg pic, the only pic I had of it was post kill.
I wondered about what msg the drawing on the back wall was trying relay....definitely had a poop theme
Following along today has been fantastic! Thanks so much for the great story telling and a hearty congratulations on accomplishing something that most of us will never try.
Nicely done! And nicely told!
After the work was done we were back at the cabin by noon. The weather was still closed in, so it was decided to wait until the following day to try for the musk ox. That was fine with me I didn't need the whole trip to be over in one day.
A pan of meat from the hind quarter was put in the cabin so it wouldn't be frozen solid. It was boiled at dinner time. After hearing some of the possible ill effects on white people from eating polar bear , I took the smallest piece in the pot. The meat truly was excellent, as good as any game meat I've eaten.
congrats !! was that shot just about perfect or a little back? was the head buried in snow for a reason? was all the meat recovered/edible? I'm not the most knowledgeable on polar bears !!
That was the exit side the entrance was a bit farther forward, we had used the snowmobile to roll the bear over to skin it, just how the snow ended being on his head. All edible meat was salvaged , it is very desired in town.
congrats. Great bear and super hunt. when it is meant to be it is meant to be and will happen. your's was meant to be and you did it!
Great job.
What will you do with the hide now.
Great!! now we get to keep visiting this thread to follow up on the Muskox hunt! Just like Bowjangles (Eric)....
Congrats and thanks for the fun story,
Congratulations Gene. Great hunt. Are we going after Musk Ox tomorrow?
My bear is going to be mounted in Canada and put in a game room, if by chance we can ever bring them home again I can get it then
I was really excited following Gene's travel progress up there to polar bear land. And was amazed at how quickly his hunt ended with success on a beauty of a bear!!! Well done Gene! He is a dandy!
Flash backs to my hunt 4 years ago, except I got mine on day 11 of a 10 day hunt! It is certainly one of my most memorable hunts.
Great adventure, great story…Congrats again Gene….Brings back fond memories for sure.
Congratulations! Wow what a dream hunt!
Wow, what an adventure! Congratulations.
so awesome! Congrats Gene!
Thanks for taking us along and congratulations! TODDY
ummmm wow!!!
can you add some more information here: "After hearing some of the possible ill effects on white people from eating polar bear"
After another comfortable night we were going to head about 40km to Devon Island on the south side of Jones Sound for musk ox. Kavavow was concerned with making the long trip with only one snowmobile. Marty sent a young man from town to accompany us with his snowmobile. Riding a snowmobile for 40km across the frozen ocean is a little weird, feels like you are going up hill the whole time.
After arriving at the Island we made our way through the rows of piled up sea ice to get on land. We traveled inland a couple miles before we started seeing musk ox. We looked over a fair number of animals before picking out what looked to be the biggest bull in the valley. There was the bull , a cow and a calf together. After we got inside their comfort zone they moved into their defense position.
Gene, When you went for muskox, were you pulled behind a snowmobile on a qamituk? If yes, I sure hope that they stopped every hour or so. I got one of the worst headaches of my life riding behind a snowmobile for several hours, as the fumes were terrible. Sure hope that you got to bring your muskox meat back....it is my favorite wild game red meat.
I rode on the rear seat of a 2 seater utility snowmobile, it was a pretty smooth ride. The meat is boxed up to go home with me.
What a great adventure and story. Thanks for taking the time to post pics and write it up. Your story is about as close as I will ever get. I truly enjoyed following it. Congratulations on an epic hunt. I hope someday you can bring your bear back home.
When the target bull was decided on, I uncased and assembled my bow with gloves on this time. As we circled the bull to get a good shot angle he decided that 30 yards was close enough, he started rubbing his face on his lower legs at that distance. After a few minutes of maneuvering I was able to get an acceptable angle, very slightly quartering towards me at 30 yards. Because of the slight angle I hugged the shoulder very tight and made sure to hold high enough to compensate for the long hair hanging down, making the body look thicker than it is. The arrow hit the spot and the musk ox didn't even flinch. At the second shot the musk ox was a bit more broadside, that arrow hit next to the first one. After that shot the bull spun and ran a few steps then started wobbling and was down in a short distance.
After the musk ox was skinned and meat loaded up we cooked lunch then started the trip back across Jones Sound back to the cabin. It was decided that we would head back to town. After 2 full hunting days I was out of tags and already heading out of the hunting area. After such a long delay getting the trip underway it is amazing to have it over so soon and now concentrating on travel back home. It has been more of an adventure then I could of imagined.
About the meat comment. I believe it is because of all the seal meat that they eat , larger amounts of polar bear meat can cause hot flash type feelings to nausea in people that aren't conditioned to it. It doesn't seem to bother the natives.
Is the white hair between the horns normal or is that unique? Looks like a epic adventure!
Awesome story. My top 2 bucket list animals to harvest. I just lived the hunt through you for now. Hope you can see that Polar Bear in your game room sooner than later.
Great animals. Thanks for taking time to bring us all the details.
That Is One Awesome Adventure and Hunt!!!!! Congratulations!!!
Great adventure, Gene! Congrats on 2 great animals. I know the polar bear is, but was the muskox one of the animals that you still needed towards completing your SS?
Also…..like JohnMC, I’m curious as well, about the hair on the boss area of your ox. Not sure I’ve seen one like that, not that I’ve seen tons of them.
Marvelous!!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Thank you for sharing. I know that is one I’m not going to be able to do. What an adventure!
I thoroughly enjoyed Polar Bear meat, but it gave me a hot flash and headache from hell.
T-roy…I asked Gene that question today. This is his second musk ox.
Great thread! Congratulations.
Big congrats! My heart was pumping. What a story. Thanks for sharing!
Congrats! What temperatures and winds did you have up there? The dogs looked a bit cold in the picture and it takes a lot to make those dogs cold.
Congratulations!!! Great hunt and recap!!
Am I the only one who started reading, got hooked, got to Medicinemann’s post about Gene flying out and cringed a little more than a little?? I did not want the story to be delayed.
Great stuff Gene. Congratulations again. My hat is off to you.
Wow! Congrats and thanks for sharing the story.
Congrats on an awesome adventure and two great animals. Thanks for taking the time to post pictures and your story.
Wow! Awesome hunt and awesome adventure. Congrats
excellent all the way around! Congrats!!!
Huge congrats on two great animals and an epic adventure!
Great story telling and pics.....thank you!
Mark
What an amazing adventure, and some awesome pics to go with it!
Thank you for taking us along.
Tha is Crazy kool
Congrats x 2,
Robb
Heck of an adventure Gene! Huge congrats
Amazing adventure. Way to go Gene!!
Awesome story telling. Thank you for sharing. Congratulations!!
What an AMAZING adventure! Thanks for taking the time to write it up! Hope you have smooth travels home.
I was checking in from time to time from work all day yesterday. I checked for the last time before leaving work..............................and left about 15 min late because like a good book, I just could NOT put it down til the end! ;-)
Thanks for all the comments.
I didn't have a thermometer, going by what the forecast was saying and how it felt I believe it was in -15 to -30 range. Wind chill seems to have a greater effect than it does at home, looking at forecast even light winds greatly add to the cold.
I'm not exactly sure what's up with the musk ox bosses. There are definitely bosses in there, they aren't huge. Doing some googling it has the look of cow head, but he definitely had boy parts.
At the end of my time on the ice I was able to add my name and details to the wall.
Congrats on your success. Way to be ready when the opportunities were presented! I hope that bear makes it back to PA sometime soon.
Epic adventure, I was completely captivated!
Thank You for sharing, Gene, and a big Congrats!
Spectacular adventure Hunt of a Lifetime! Hell of a two-fer! Congratulations! Excellent results for sure! Hopefully you can get your bear back soon!
This thread was the first thing I checked on when I got to my computer today and I was not disappointed. Congrats again on a great trip Gene and, as always, thanks for taking the time to share it with us!
That building seems to be relatively new? Were you in Norwegian Bay?
The building was first used in 2015. I was hunting Jones Sound. This year the ice was smooth enough that they were able to pull the cabin the 37km with a pickup.
Awesome adventure! Great animals! Congrats and thanks for sharing!!!
We certainly needed to have this post here on BS
What a great adventure, congrats on two fine animals!
Hey Gene, I am heading off to Nebraska to turkey hunt BUT I can guarantee you my hunt will not even come close to the excitement you had on yours. WOW, super adventure x2. Nicely done.
PS, but it will be warmer :)
my best, Paul
Good stuff! Great adventure thanks for posting.
Awesome hunt Gene! Congrats on a successful adventure!
What an epic adventure! Congratulations and thank you for sharing it with us
The ox is a younger bull, maybe just short of 2 year old. The bosses would have started to fill in between year 2-3 and are nearly touching at 4 years.
That's awesome Gene. Thankyou so much for taking us along. You just did something very few will ever do.
Congrats Gene! I see the bear was 26 of 29......................just wondering what you have left?
Absolutely outstanding!!! Thanks for sharing Gene. Congratulations
Thanks taking the time to post all the details and pics of your hunt. The travel getting there and back home is an adventure in itself. Congrats on your bear and ox!
Congrats Gene!!! Wowza!!!!!
In some rare air there, awesome on a stick..... Congrats! A pleasure to read and most in near real time! Thanks much for the effort to take us all along. Hard to imagine. Always amazed me how anything lives in such conditions, much less people. Little wonder the bear meat would have such an effect.... must be the antifreeze.....
26/29? Meaning 26th of your 29? Pretty cool. That's a lifetime of adventure already! Of the hunts so far where does this stand on your "adventure" meter?
Also curious if you ride on the dogsled to the bear hunt? Those things aren't known for their suspension and comfy ride, have been told you have to count your kidneys when you get there.... I know the dogs are important to the hunt to bay the bear, but if I recall there was some rule about the hunter having to ride with dogs on that hunt? Or maybe that was somewhere else that I read about or maybe just a local custom in places.
Hope there comes a time when science and facts truly overrule personal politics and you can get that giant home. A damn shame what has gone on for far too long.
Finally able to finish this read --- WOW, was not disappointed, for sure. Well done, like others, I'll never get to do that kind of a hunt - thanks for taking us along.
What an adventure!!! Congrats!!! Great trophies!!!
What an adventure!!! Congrats!!! Great trophies!!!
Wow what a great adventure and a beautiful bear. Thanks for the write up and congrats on both animals!
Congrats Gene, what an adventure. Don't tell anyone that there are lots of bears, it doesn't fit the narrative. If you travel on time up north it's almost unusual! lol Thanks so much for taking us along. What a hunt. Great shooting too. Not that easy in all the clothing.
Incredible adventure, congratulations!!
I have zero desire to do either of those hunts but, man, what a great read! Thanks for bringing it here and congrats on two great trophies!
Great story Sir, and a great double accomplishment !
Outstanding! Thanks for sharing!
Excellent Adventure. Thank you for sharing.
"I handed my video camera to Mike and nocked an arrow that I was getting ready to point at a polar bear."
did someone say video?????
Congratulations. Thanks for taking the time to share with BS.
Congrats on both hunts! Epic story telling, thanks for sharing.
Genera you get the taxidermy hurried up I bet if uncle Joe is still in office we can get that bad boy across the southern border and in your trophy room in PA !!
Just Saying??
Congrats on both trophies
Congrats! Thanks for sharing an epic adventure! Bowsite has a whole slew of accomplished bowhunters, but not not many have taken a polar bear!
Couple airborne pictures of Jones Sound leaving Grise Fiord
Great adventure Gene! Thanks for sharing.
Stories like this made Bowsite what it is.
You finally got out! Typical Arctic hunt! Travel, wait, wait (hunt for a few hours) wait, wait, travel. ;). Congrats again on an epic adventure.
Awesome! Congrats and thanks for sharing!
Awesome adventure!!! Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations, sounds like quite an adventure.
What an adventure! Thank you for taking us along. Congrats on a couple of fine animals!
Bowsite Classic! Thanks for taking us along Gene and congrats again on the success!! I've officially been bitten by the arctic bug and I have to go back. Reading this adds fuel to the fire. Just an epic adventure!!!!
Thanks again for all the comments and compliments. I made it home about 3am Monday morning, only 6 days of travel and delays. Still processing everything that happened on the trip.
Lyle killed a super bear 2 days ago. He had seen at least 15 bears before he shot one.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share you’re adventure on bowsite.
Six days to get home or total travel both ends
Gene it's crazy looking at that pic of the map where you flew. Our lodges where we run our polar bear tours out of is LESS than half the distance you went. Just goes to show how much of the north has polar bears. Our most southern lodge is a couple hundred miles SE of my X
What an adventure! I would have brought the dogs in to sleep with me!
Traveling up, I left home Tues evening and arrived in Grise Fiord Friday about noon. Traveling home, I was back in town Mon evening, the first scheduled flight was Thurs morning, that one was postponed, I arrived home 3am Monday.
I do have video, working on some editing
Congratulations on an absolutely fantastic hunt!???? Thanks for sharing……makes my Greenland muskox hunt seem like a walk-in-the-park.
Musk ox is a walk in the park. A cold park, but a walk in the park nonetheless
My bud just arrived in Grise Fiord yesterday. His baggage didn't and may be 4 days out.
Starting this year, the airlines are no longer allowing frozen hides to be wrapped in a tarp then roped tied for shipping. I had these 2 blue totes with me, one has a polar bear hide the other musk ox head and hide. When it was finally time leave Grise Fiord Marty had rope tied the totes in a criss cross pattern that Hundini would have struggled to get out of.....Marty picked me up with the "musk ox" tote and dropped me at the airport. The totes had gotten switched, luckily it was discovered before I made it to the border and tried to commit a federal crime by smuggling a polar bear into the US. After changing the destination of the tote to go Calgary, I crossed the border without incident. After being delayed in the cargo freezer in Ottawa, I just got word that my bear hide was finally delivered to Calgary and will be transfered to the taxidermist soon.
In 2008, USFW declared the polar bear a threatened species. As a result of that declaration, all bears that were previously legally harvested prior to the declaration were prohibited from being imported into the US. All bears taken after that date remain un-importable. The USFW based its decision on predictions of the declining arctic ice formations out to 2050. These predictions indicated that when the arctic sea ice declined to those levels, the world's polar bear population would also decline as much as 67% (from the 2008 level). Well in 2015-2018, the sea ice levels attained the levels that were predicted for 2050. However, the world's polar bear population was estimated to have increased as much as 20% during that time frame! During the fall of 2021, USFW instituted a public comment period for commenting on the continued need to list the polar bear as threatened. That period closed in December 2021. USFW have not issued a decision yet. I am unaware of whether SCI and the other conservation organizations issued comments. They seem to be entirely focused on African issues and have forgotten the polar bear. It would seem to me that if habitat is declining and animal populations are increasing, the population should be controlled to bring it in line with the habitat. The numbers of bears and the quick success that Gene and others on the site have had as well the observations of the Inuit guides who have lived in the arctic all of their life would further support that the populations are increasing. Unfortunately, I have little faith that USFW will ignore the politics and do the right thing.
Mad Trapper that does not fit the narrative.
I sell filming contracts for the groups that do the nature documentaries. So crews come in from usually the UK to film polar bears and such. They don't just film the animals. They film a story. The story has been made and decided before they even come here. And it can be 100% wrong but the question is - can we get "these shots?" The ideas and the narrative are all made ahead of time. Some groups are pretty good about listening to what we have to say, but others, it's just climate change, bears are dying yada yada. Everyone loves a tragedy.
Agreed. They don't let the facts get in the way of their ideology. It is unfortunate for the bears as well as the Inuit people.
Great story.
Hot flashes and headaches? Is my wife the only one eating polar bear meat?
The Inuit hunters suffer from the ban- the US was the biggest buyer of fur, and loosing that market has really hurt the trade.
The Inuit hunters suffer from the ban- the US was the biggest buyer of fur, and loosing that market has really hurt the trade.
Question for you guys that have taken polar bears that are not importable. Where are your hides and skulls stored? I’m assuming with a taxidermist or a friend or family member north of the border? If with a taxidermist, do you pay some type of storage fee with them?
The hides are generally wet tanned and frozen. Various expeditors in Canada will store them for a nominal annual fee.
