Nanuq (Polar Bear)

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About Us Yukon North Slope Our Work Research Aullaviat/Anguniarvik

Polar bears on the Yukon North Slope belong to the Southern Beaufort Sea population which extends from Point Barrow, Alaska to Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T.. Inuvialuit have been living and interacting with nanuq for countless generations and have come to understand a great deal about their life history, behaviour, and interactions. Western scientists have been studying Southern Beaufort polar bears for several decades. Together, Inuvialuit knowledge and Western science paint a picture of the complex role that polar bears play in the Arctic ecosystem. Both ways of knowing are bridged together to inform Council's polar bear management recommendations.

Photo credit: Steve Baryluk / GNWT

The Importance of Polar Bears to Inuvialuit

Polar bears have always been of great cultural significance to Inuvialuit, featuring in many stories, both recent and passed down through generations. There continue to be many teachings and traditions, often relating to the considerable skill, knowledge, courage, and endurance required to hunt polar bears.

Nanuq also has economic importance to Inuvialuit. Depending on the community, hunting can represent a main source of income to a family.

Working Together

The Southern Beaufort Sea polar bear subpopulation is shared between the Northwest Territories and Yukon in Canada, and Alaska in the United States. Inuvialuit and Inupiat have been stewarding this polar bear population for millennia. In 1988, Inuvialuit and Inupiat formalized their joint stewardship in the Inuvialuit-Inupiat Polar Bear Management Agreement. The Agreement created a commission with representatives from Inuvialuit and Inupiat organizations. The commission monitors the health of the subpopulation and coordinates a shared sustainable harvest for traditional users. The commission meets annually, bringing together researchers and managers, including our Council, to collaborate and listen.

Polar Bear Research

Our Council is responsible for making management recommendations that support the Southern Beaufort Sea polar bear subpopulation and ongoing Inuvialuit traditional use of polar bears. Our management recommendations are informed by Inuvialuit knowledge and Western science. One of the key research questions our Council asks is: how many bears are there? When we have a picture of how many bears there are today, and how that compares to times in the past, we can make informed recommendations that support polar bear population health and sustainable harvest practices.

Photo credit: John Lucas Jr.

Southern and Northern Beaufort Sea Polar Bear Study

Researchers in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region and Alaska have been collaborating since 2019 on a demographic study of Southern and Northern Beaufort Sea polar bears. This study will help us understand approximately how many bears there are, and what's changed over the last 20 years. This study bridges Western science and Indigenous knowledge to provide a fulsome picture of what's going on in the world of Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears. Read more about the study here.

Photo credit (right): Steve Baryluk / GNWT.

Planning for Demographic Studies

Our Council invited Eric Regehr to share reflections from his 25 year career studying polar bears. Eric practices biostatistics through a Western scientific lens. Eric's report focuses on practical considerations for planning and implementing polar bear demographic studies, from defining your research question all the way through to assessing harvest risk and population projections. This work supports our Council's participation in monitoring and the Southern Beaufort Sea polar bear subpopulation and fulfilling our mandate to make recommendations for polar bear management.

Downloads

Estimating Demographic Parameters - Regehr - Oct ...

529.92 KB pdf

Sharing Nanuq Knowledge

Nanuq has a special place in Inuvialuit culture and the Arctic ecosystem. A few years ago, we worked with our partners to document Inuvialuit knowledge about the incredible animal and its icy home. All of this knowledge is drawn together in a comprehensive report, but we wanted to make it more accessible. Check out our new graphic illustrating Inuvialuit knowledge of Nanuq!

A Story of Nanuq

Different Types of Polar Bears

While nanuq generally refers to polar bears, Inuvialuit have a number of different words to describe and be more specific about these bears.

Nanuaraaluk

Refers to a polar bear cub, while nurraiyaat refers to newborn cubs in the den.

Atauhimik ukiulik

This term is used to describe a one year old cub, while nanuaq is more generally a young polar bear.

Anguhaluq

This word is used for a full grown male polar bear.

Arnahaluq narranilu

An adult female polar bear without cubs is described using this term.

Polar Bear Podcast

The comprehensive traditional knowledge study, Inuvialuit and Nanuq, provides insight and much needed management guidance for polar bears in the Western Arctic. Check out our podcast on this landmark study and hear from a number of voices who helped to make it come to life.

Listen

Inuvialuit and Nanuq

Inuvialuit have been interacting with and hunting polar bears for as long as people can remember, sharing information, knowledge, and understanding of nanuq from one generation to the next.

This sharing is key and provides the ecological and cultural underpinnings required for a safe and successful hunt or travel in polar bear country. As such, Inuvialuit traditional knowledge extends beyond polar bear biology to include ice characteristics, weather, polynyas, habitat preferences, seal behaviour and distribution, among other things.

The World of the Polar Bear

Ice, in all its dynamic forms, defines polar bear habitat, from pressure ridges and multi-year ice to polynyas and the floe edge. While Inuvialuit have spotted nanuq traveling inland on occasion, the majority of their time is spent in their marine home.

"They have to have ice - the polar bear. Can't live without ice. The way they hunt that seal. The seal won't go to them. They have to go after the seal to get it. In order to get it, the've got to have ice. No ice: no food."

- Aklavik Tradition Knowledge Holder, from Inuvialuit and Nanuq

Read the full study!

The full report, Inuvialuit and Nanuq - A Polar Bear Traditional Knowledge Study, is accessible through our Resource Library.

Inuvialuit and Nanuq

Sharing Knowledge of Nanuq

Demographic Study of Southern and Northern Beaufort Sea polar bears