Baffin Island Caribou Hunt had a surprise for hunters

ArmedGinger

ArmedGinger

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Some Inuit men were on a fall caribou hunt south of Igloolik, on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic, when a young polar bear ripped open the door of their Arctic Oven-style tent as they slept.

“One of the scariest experiences of my life!” said one of the men, Joe Uttak. He included a photo of just how close the bear came to them. It was halfway inside the tent when one of the men shot the animal.

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That's one reason Arctic adventurers so often travel with dogs, or should- they provide an early warning system. I still think of that British school group that camped out in the Norwegian arctic and lost a kid with numerous others injured, the one where the man in charge didn't know how to operate his rifle so as to load a round. At least in this case in a camp full of hunters there were those who did.
 
Big Bad said:
That's one reason Arctic adventurers so often travel with dogs, or should- they provide an early warning system. I still think of that British school group that camped out in the Norwegian arctic and lost a kid with numerous others injured, the one where the man in charge didn't know how to operate his rifle so as to load a round. At least in this case in a camp full of hunters there were those who did.
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He only fired 4 rounds in training and was then put in charge of protecting kids in active polar bear habitat.

His K98 safety was in the middle safe position where he could cycle the CRF bolt but it would not fire.

Thinking that just having a rifle without proper training will keep you safe is like thinking that just owning a scalpel makes you a brain surgeon.
 
Well cooking in the tent your sleeping in is probably one way to attract a hungry juvenile. That bear was just there for take out...
 
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When I was up in that area a few years back, I was shocked how intense everyone was about polar bears. As we got into the hunt it was very clear they are all very cautious regarding bear encounters. While we were out there was a hunter killed by a polar bear, in a very similar situation, as the bear watch person swapped out, it got into the tent and injured a hunter. As the weather was brutal and communications were not working, they had to sit and wait a few days before they were found. In the mean time there were a bunch more bears that showed up.

When you compare a polar bear to a big Grizz there is honestly no comparison. A 1 year old cub that we saw was bigger than the biggest black bear I have ever saw. When you experience seeing them first hand it really is impressive.
 
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