More than 40 years after his first polar bear hunt, lining up a huge predator in the sights of his rifle still deeply moves George Angohiatok.
photo courtesy of the Ekaluktutiak Hunters and Trappers Organization
SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 something about that big polar bear, so much respect for him. Every time I see one I shake like a leaf and nothing else does that to me. I hunted everything all my life and thereSA国际影视传媒檚 no other creature in GodSA国际影视传媒檚 world that does that to me. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 amazing. It just sends shivers through my body,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淚t just shakes me to my soul.SA国际影视传媒�
Earlier this month, Angohiatok, his nephew and his nephewSA国际影视传媒檚 son travelled about 180 km north of Cambridge Bay to an area in the McClintock Channel where Angohiatok knows enormous bears feast on bearded seals.
Sure enough, he spotted one of the predators, 11 feet in length, on some very rough ice. It was impossible to traverse the area on snowmobile, so Angohiatok had to take make a long-distance shot and then the hunting party all trudged over the rugged terrain to skin the beast. Dragging the carcass back over 600 metres SA国际影视传媒� at an estimated 350 to 400 pounds SA国际影视传媒� was no easy feat, he acknowledged.
SA国际影视传媒淓ven though ISA国际影视传媒檝e harvested a lot of bears in my lifetime, that one sticks out above all the rest just because of the fact that it was a lot of work. We really had to put in a lot of time and effort to do this one successfully. I couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 do it alone. It was too heavy,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淚t was challenging. It had a bit of everything. The excitement was certainly just overwhelming.SA国际影视传媒�
On that same trip, his nephew brought down a 12-foot polar bear.
SA国际影视传媒淢y God it was huge. We were just blessed with perfect weather, perfect timing. Everything was on our side this winter,SA国际影视传媒� said Angohiatok, who noted that he still holds a world record for hunting a 13-foot bear in 1994 that remains on display at a museum in Carcross, Yukon.
He also went on a successful hunt in early February, nabbing a 10-foot bear based on a tag his wife won in a draw.
He said the predatorsSA国际影视传媒� population is SA国际影视传媒渞eally healthySA国际影视传媒� and the reason people see smaller bears around the community is because large bears are driving them out of the prime sealing locations.
AngohiatokSA国际影视传媒檚 father taught him his hunting skills and how to make use of the various body parts. He said he grew up eating bear meat and wearing clothing made of bear skin, although, as a retiree, he may also choose to sell the hides, which are in magnificent condition, he said.
