Published By US Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior
Issued over 9 years ago
Summary
Description
The circumpolar population and cross border movement of polar bears are significant features of their distribution. Although use of aircraft has increased hunting pressure and established a new pattern of hunting, the kill in Alaska is probably not yet to be considered excessive. The predominance of males in the kill lessens its effect on the population. Annual variations in the availability of bears are probably due chiefly to regional variations in food and ice conditions rather than to the effects of hunting. It has been suggested that aircraft hunting is interfering with the availability of bears to the native hunter. Actually, most of the polar bears killed by airplane hunters are taken far beyond the range of native hunters with dog teams, and if airborne parties would avoid the relatively small hunting areas near each native village, the potential conflict would be minimized. The native hunting effort has been greatly reduced voluntarily in recent years, with the advent and growth of wageearning opportunities and welfare benefits, and it may be that the combined total of bears killed by both native and sport hunters during the 195657 season does not equal the native kill alone of twenty years ago. Polar bears in Alaska represent an important economic and aesthetic resource which deserves careful management based on adequate and continued research.