Canada: Polar Bear Defense, August 17, 1993 Coburg Island FOIA Incident 47

Incident  47 August 17, 1993 Coburg Island, Canada Polar bear Unknown Handgun

On August 17, 1993, Stephen Smith had crawled into his sleeping bag a little before midnight, exhausted from a long day of research hanging in a harness, high above ground, banding sea birds. Only 15 minutes later, a polar bear emerged from the sea and was attempting to enter the tent. From Up Here magazine Jan/Feb, 2013: 

Things were shaking, rumbling, vibrating – a space encapsulated, tumbling uncontrollably, like a car rolling off a highway. A roar beyond the edges closing in; unrelenting confusion; craziness. And then the instant where my stifled scream broke free and the dream was gone. Sitting bolt upright in my sleeping bag, gun in my hand, my world was defined by a domed envelope of yellow nylon.

 “BEAR!” I bellowed, grabbing the zipper on the doorway. The stillness of that moment was broken by the ripping of the zipper teeth. The tent door fell away, revealing a very black and moist nose, straddled by two wide and startled eyes. In the space of three pulls on the trigger, two things became certain: A bear had died in the High Arctic, and I was fully awake, bent forward in my sleeping bag.

The article in Up Here Magazine indicates the incident happened in 1994. Smith's memory in 2013 was off a bit. The entry in the report received as part of a Freedom of Information Act request states: 

 The official report, scan attached, states the date as 17 August 1993.

The location was Coburg Island, near Ellemerre Island, off the southeast coast, in Baffin Bay. 

 From the article:

 The day had been busy and exhausting, most of it spent dangling in a harness high above the sea, banding seabirds and their chicks. Stumbling out of the tent in my underwear, smoking gun in hand, everything was a blur. I heard my tent-mate shout, “Steve, you didn’t even fire a warning shot!”

And as I stood over the glistening and motionless remains of the magnificent animal, I realized that it was wet and fresh from the sea. Looking at my watch I also realized that it was midnight and that I’d only gone to bed 15 minutes earlier. It was true. I hadn’t fired a warning shot. Nor had it occurred to me.

Eleven years later, Smith's companions saved him from another hungry polar bear, by shooting and killing the bear. Smith says he will be forever grateful to them for saving his life. 

Stephen Smith goes on to talk about his conversion to the theory all you need to defend yourself from polar bears is a stout stick, and the right attitude.

Polar bears may often be intimidated by a stout stick, if you are awake, see them coming from some distance, have the correct mental attitude, and do not find yourself facing a desperately hungry bear.

People have been killed by polar bears after the bear dragged them from a tent, or caught them unaware at a work site.

According to Svalbard records, no one who has been armed with a suitable firearm in Svalbard, has been killed by a polar bear, at least since 1976. 

All polar bears die. Most polar bears are hungry most of the time. Killing the few polar bears who encounter people and refuse to be scared off, does not harm the polar bear population. Many young and old polar bears die of starvation every year. Removing a few polar bears from polar bear habitat opens up available slots in the polar bear ecosystem, allowing other bears to survive.

 

©2023 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch