Safety in polar bear country
[Updated March 7, 2022]
A couple of weeks ago, I received some information from Parks Canada about safety around polar bears. Many years ago I saw a polar bear while I was flying along the Beaufort Sea coast west of Tuktoyaktuk, and ever since have been determined to some day get a whole lot closer. Given that ambition, I like to keep abreast of the latest knowledge about how to stay safe while having that experience.
This section about female polar bears, although basic, is worth reinforcing:
In case you can’t read Inuktitut, it says (in summary) to never get between a female and her cubs, to stay in a group, to carry deterrents and to fight back if she attacks. The part where it says to kiss your a** goodbye if she attacks in defence of her cubs must be elsewhere in the brochure!
Life is so unpredictable that you just never know when you might get a chance to see polar bears in the wild. If you’d like to get ready, you can read both the English-language and Inuktitut versions of the brochure by clicking here.
About The Author
