Polar bear killed near park where attack happened Thursday
No word whether it was same bear involved in incident; no update on injured skier’s condition
Parks Canada provided no update Friday on the condition of a skier injured by a polar bear Thursday in Auyuittuq National Park, adjacent to Pangnirtung and Qikiqtarjuaq. (File photo)
A day after a polar bear attack in Auyuittuq National Park near Pangnirtung, there is still no update on the condition of the skier who was injured.
“The field unit is waiting on some documents, and don’t believe that we’ll have them by end of the day today,” said Margaret Friesen, a spokesperson for Parks Canada’s Nunavut field unit, in an email to Nunatsiaq News on Friday.
Early Thursday, a skier was injured by a polar bear and was “assisted by other visitors who were able to get to the Summit Lake emergency shelter safely,” Parks Canada said in a news release Thursday.
The release said Parks Canada staff helped to evacuate the visitors when a helicopter was unable to land due to a low cloud ceiling.
Later Thursday in an email to Nunatsiaq News, Friesen said five visitors were removed from the park, including one who was injured. She said Parks Canada staff used a snowmobile to evacuate the five, and the injured person was receiving treatment at the health centre in Pangnirtung.
Parks Canada has not released the skier’s age, name or gender and as of Friday afternoon hadn’t provided an update on their condition.
Pangnirtung residents Donald Mearns and Noah Mosesee told Nunatsiaq News that a polar bear was killed near the park on Friday, however it’s not known if it was the same bear involved in the attack. Pangnirtung Hunters and Trappers Association didn’t respond to an inquiry from Nunatsiaq News.
Isn’t it time we made an exception to carrying a gun rule to arctic national parks? There exists a predator that actively hunts humans, and yet we handicap visitors in face of it.
It’s completely ignorant with regards to local knowledge. No inuk would be seen without a gun on foot, probably means visitors shouldn’t be without a gun either.
visitors to domains of wild polar bears should expect this could happen at anytime. No one should be surprised or angered by it. No such thing as an unproved attack. Your unexpected presence in their backyard is provacation enough.
Only a matter of time before someone is killed by a bear in that park. And the blood will be on Parks Canada’s hands.
Maybe he recover well but this what happens when you don’t have fear respect for wild animals. Bear guards do real work.
We don’t even know that the victim of the attack was a he – the second commenter is just assuming that.
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I think the most interesting question is why Parks Canada is being so secretive about what actually happened in the park that night. How did the victim escape death if, as people are assuming, there was no weapon involved?
Parks Canada may be leery of liability enforcing their own senseless rules and regulations.
After all, didn’t Parks Canada “find” Franklin ‘s ship that Inuit couldn’t?😂😂🤯