Tradition aids science in polar bear research

The combined research efforts of missionary Frans Van de Velde and hunters from Kugaaruk are a shining example of how traditional and scientific knowledge can complement each other, says polar bear scientist Dr. Ian Stirling.

“Van de Velde’s careful recording allows credit for making these invaluable observations on polar bear biology and ecology to go to the people that made them: the Inuk hunters from Pelly Bay,” Sterling says in a research paper he co-authored.

Inuit hunters from the community now known as Kugaaruk passed on information about denning polar bears to the Belgian Oblate missionary.

Stirling said records provided by hunters and documented by Van de Velde from the 1930s to late 1960s provide unique data on polar bears in their winter dens because Ataata Vandivi was meticulous about how he wrote down information from the observant hunters.

“His records are sufficiently quantitative to provide unique insights into pregnancy rates, litter sizes of cubs prior to leaving the den, and winter denning in the region hunted by Inuit from Pelly Bay,” the paper says.

The study area was the Simpson Peninsula (known as Saattok in Inuktitut) and adjacent islands to the northwest. This was the traditional winter polar bear hunting area of the residents of today’s Kugaaruk.

Van de Velde, who died two years ago at age 93, resided in the community from 1937 through 1965 and again for several months in 1968-69. Hunters would recall the details of each bear they killed for Van de Velde.

The resulting data is a mix of traditional knowledge and scientific method, which, said Stirling, adds to what is known about polar bears and highlights the need to protect denning areas.

For example, more bears appear to regularly use dens during winter to conserve energy during cold weather than is generally thought.

The survival of triplet litters also seems to be rare. The mortality rate of cubs in the first few months after leaving their dens is high, in the range of 15 to 25 per cent, meaning one out of four cubs dies.

Observations suggest polar bear cubs in the Simpson Peninsula area are probably born between early December and early January. This, taken with other research data, suggests cubs born at higher latitudes are born later in the year than those at lower latitudes.

After 1968, it became illegal to hunt or disturb bears in dens, although this was a long-time traditional method of hunting. So information that exists from earlier years of this phase in polar bear life history is unlikely to be collected again.