In a rare occurrence in northern Manitoba, a paddler fatally shot a polar bear on Friday, marking a notable incident of a recreational traveler encountering and killing a protected species. The incident occurred near the Seal River’s mouth, approximately 50 kilometers west of Churchill along Hudson Bay’s coast. Provincial wildlife authorities are currently investigating the shooting.
Polar bears are designated as a threatened species in Manitoba, receiving protection under The Endangered Species and Ecosystems Act and The Wildlife Act. Manitoba does not permit polar bear hunts within its borders. Doug Clark, a renowned expert in human-polar bear interactions from the University of Saskatchewan, expressed uncertainty about a similar defensive shooting involving a paddler or hiker in Manitoba’s history.
Clark mentioned previous conflicts between paddlers and polar bears in locations such as Torngat Mountains National Park in Labrador and Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean. He emphasized the heightened risk for paddlers, especially kayakers, when camping on shore due to potential encounters with polar bears seeking food.
The Seal River, known for its whitewater, flows eastward across northern Manitoba before meeting Hudson Bay’s coast, a habitat heavily frequented by polar bears. It is customary for canoeists and kayakers navigating rivers leading to Hudson Bay to carry shotguns as a precaution against polar bears. These firearms are used as a last resort and are initially loaded with blanks to deter bears with noise.
Clark noted that polar bears are defensively or legally shot every year along Nunavut’s Hudson Bay coast, attributing the rising human-bear encounters to evolving ice conditions affecting bear behavior. He urged authorities to provide detailed information on the recent incident to promote awareness and understanding among the public.