Baker bear scare fades

IQALUIT — Alarm about gri lies gripped the inland Kivalliq hamlet earlier this month after residents reported that the hungry animals had damaged numerous cabins and caches.

No attacks on people were reported.

At an emergency meeting between the hamlet and the HTO on July 6, the community declared a state of emergency and urged residents to shoot bears showing aggression toward people or property.

The community also requested help from the Nunavut government to deal with the bears.

According to Mitch Campbell, the regional wildlife biologist for the Kivalliq, three bears that came to within about five kilometres of the community caused most of the damage.

Community wildlife officer Joe Niego shot those bears over the weekend. Two or three other bears are farther from town and are not considered a threat.

Campbell said the bears were likely attracted to town by the large number of caribou carcasses near Baker Lake.

“When they smell something like that it’s barbecue time, and they all kind of show up in the same spot,” Campbell said.

The caribou population near Baker Lake is considered healthy, so wildlife officials suspect hunters may have left the carcasses.

Many Kivalliq communities have gri ly bears nearby. Gri ly numbers may be on the increase in the region, Campbell said, but the number of bears around Baker Lake is not particularly unusual.