Inuit input wanted on polar bears: Nunavut Tunngavik

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) wants more Inuit to call its toll-free "polar bear hotline" and record their concerns about polar bears in the North.

The Inuit land-claim organization created the hotline on Dec. 14 to collect traditional knowledge about the number of polar bears Nunavummiut are seeing in their communities, and what effect polar bears are having in those communities.

Officials hope the information collected from the phone line will help NTI counter the United States government's proposal to ban all commercialtrade of polar bear products inmany countriesunder the Convention on International trade on Endangered Species (CITES).

The 175 countries that have signed the international treaty are expected to vote on the proposal in March.

The proposed ban stems from U.S. concerns about declining polar bear numbers due to shrinking Arctic sea ice, but Inuit have argued that bear populations are actually on the rise in the North.

Too many bears, callers say

NTI received about 15 calls to the hotline before its offices closed for two weeks for the Christmas holidays, wildlife advisor Paul Irngaut told CBC News.

The callers brought a range of observations, but Irngaut said most so far feel there are too many polar bears in Nunavut, and climate change is not going to have any effect on bear populations.

"The thing that they're more worried about is the effect on seals, which is the food source for polar bears, and also the human to polar bear contact," Irngaut said Monday.

"There seems to be more and more happening, more property damages. The Inuit attribute that to the increase in population the more polar bears there are, the more contact there's going to be in the future."

Irngaut said NTI will be accepting calls to the polar bear hotline until the end of February.

He added that he's particularly interested in hearing more calls from Inuit in Nunavut's Kivalliq and Kitikmeot regions.

Irngaut said the information collected from the hotline will be presented in March to CITES, as it prepares to vote on the U.S. proposal.

If approved, the CITES ban would prohibit sport hunters who go polar bear hunting in Nunavut from taking home their polar bear hides and trophies, which in turn would severely impact business for Inuit who make a living as hunting guides.