Tundra times., 1962-11-19
Polar Bear Huntinq

they consider eearcUt infringement upon their right to hunt polar bear they have for centuries Ekimos from Barrow, Kotzebue Point Hope, and many other vIaoes quite concerned that weIo-do sports hunters are de- prving them of this right to food and upsetnq their economy
 The taking of the polar bear to inc Eskimo has always been great challenge. The ancient Eskimo staked and killed inc huge animal with spear The Eskimo today kills the polar bear with 30-3O rifle. The Eskimo huns the polar bear for food and sell its skin as part of his semi. cash economy.
 Within inc last five years more, a new brand of hunter has appeared inc Arctic The nonNave hunter, armed with 300 maenum rifle. equipped with plane 10 locate polar bears at great distances the ice pack.
 This great numbering animal cannot foo fast An Eskimo with expanded effort chase and stalk oo the bears drop from exhaustion and unable to 10 defend themselves, then get their guarsnteed kills by pumping bullets into the exhausted animals.
 More often ttsn not the sportsman takes only inc head and skin and leaves the meat from 25 to 100 miles out on the ice. Sometimes sportsman will bring token pieces of the much liked and wanted food back ov|aee
 For years Eskimo villages inc coast killed number of polar bears In good year. many villages have gotten over fifty of them. But since sport polar bear hunting in planes has started inc village fake" has conespondingy decreased This year some villages did get single polar bear.
 This is how sport polar bear hunting has increased at village, Point Hope in inc last three years Three years ago pilot guides started flying sport hunters from Point CoSIf fore last the number of planes flying fro mthe village in creased 10 10 and per hunter charge dropped to about 500; last year the number of planes increased to 7 and inc "gUaranteed kill price dropped 10 about $500 For long P Hope people could remember, they had annually gotten several polar bears Last year they got none at all
 Even if few polar bears moi trophy size, approach viIages they scared away by planes taking off and landing at village arsps. The pilots fly right out over inc ice from the village and return the same way
 Villages have complained about this situation and taking off and go down inc coast for few miles before turning out the ice. But Eskimo puts it, They quit for day two and then start flying back over inc ice from the village again."
 Polar bear hunters spend money quite lavishy at vi- ages and few who profit do not want to lose this But most Ekimos beginning to realize that inc profit they make from the hunters does not match the loss of the animals they able 10 take themselves
 The present sales price of polar bear skin is $l6 per foot up o fen feet and $2O foot thereafter village today able 10 get 50 ten-foot animals the village economy would be boosted to $80oo, 10 say nothing of inc food that would be obtained.
 What sense does it make to have on the books law that promises to protect inc rights of natives and at the same lime laws allowing polar bear hunting by pIane laws that destroy the polar bear hunting of natives, severely cripple their economy and Chip off another part of their way of life that they hold dear.
 We believe studies should be made of the polar bear. Comparison studies should be made of inc Eskimo polar bear hunter and inc plane sports hunter And review