Nunavut man killed by polar bear while protecting kids

ARVIAT, NUNAVUT A Nunavut man died this week while protecting his children from a rare polar bear attack. RCMP say Aaron Gibbons, 31, was on an island about 10 kilometres from the hamlet of Arviat, along the west coast of Hudson Bay, on Tuesday afternoon when the bear attacked.

“He was enjoying his day with his children,” said Gordy Kidlapik, Gibbons’s uncle. “They were surprised by a bear that had started to stalk or charge toward one of his children.

“What (Aaron) did was he told his children to run away to the boat while he was putting himself between the bear and his children to protect them.”

The children, described as elementary school age, made it safely to the boat. One of the girls called for help on the CB radio.

“We actually heard the call for help,” said Kidlapik. “It was terrible to listen to.”

Gibbons was pronounced dead at the scene.

Kidlapik said his nephew would have had a rifle with him.

RCMP said Gibbons didn’t have his rifle immediately at hand when the bear attacked. They said the bear was shot and killed by other adults on what is known as Century Island.

Kidlapik said many in the hamlet stood on the beach Tuesday night under the midnight sun as Gibbons’s body was brought home. “It’s a very big shock,” he said. Dan Pimentel of Nunavut’s Environment Department said the last fatal polar bear mauling was in 2000 near Rankin Inlet, about 200 kilometres up the coast from Arviat. Arviat is considered to be in the range of the Western Hudson Bay polar bear population, estimated in 2016 to number about 840. The Polar Bear Specialist Group, an international body of experts, says that number is stable although it notes declines in body size and condition.

The hunting quota for local bears has steadily increased to 38 this year from 28 in 2016. The Kivalliq Wildlife Board has said bearhuman encounters are growing.

The Nunavut government and the World Wildlife Fund have co-operated to reduce those conflicts, including steel food storage bins and electric fences around dog team pens. Nunavut is issuing kits containing flares, bear bangers and bear spray to help keep hunters safe.