Inuit father killed protecting his children from polar bear

A YOUNG Inuit father was killed while protecting his children from a polar bear attack in Canada’s Arctic territory.

Aaron Gibbons, 31, from the Inuit hamlet of Arviat on the southern tip of the north-western Nunavut territory, reportedly encountered the bear on Sentry Island, a popular hunting and fishing spot about seven miles away, on the west coast of Hudson Bay.

“My [nephew] died a hero today,” Gordy Kidlapik, his uncle, said. “The bear surprised him and his children, so he put himself between them and the bear to let them escape. The bear had no fear.

“To hear … his young daughter having to call on CB radio and crying to her grandmother immediately after the mauling … we were very helpless. To hear [her] calling out to my [nephew] asking if he’s OK … heartbreaking.”

Mr Gibbons, whose rifle was out of reach at the time of the incident, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ecologists believe that polar bear attacks on humans are becoming increasingly common due to climate change driving bears on to the land. But Mr Kidlapik also blamed tour companies that were lowering polar bears’ fears of humans by offering regular access to the animals. He warned that tourism was leaving Inuit communities “to defend against bears that have lost their fear of humans”.

However, Susan Crockford, a Canadian zoologist who studies polar bear activity, said that up close and personal exposure to the animals might not have been the reason for the fatal attack.

“Nobody can draw any conclusions until we get more information,” said Ms Crockford, an adjunct professor at the University of Victoria in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

“Very young bears between three and five years old are not only inexperienced hunters, they also have to compete with older, bigger males who take the seals away from them and they lose out in the competition game.”

Nunavut’s environment department said it was “working closely” with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and wildlife officers in their investigation.

The polar bear was shot and killed by other people who were on the island at the time, police said.

John Main, a local representative from the area, said: “It’s really just incredibly sad. We’re a small community and when something like this happens, it affects the whole community.”

The last fatal polar bear attack in the area was in 2000.