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To read Part I, click here.
The water was coming up over the bow of our boat and I looked at Luke my Inuit guide. He was shaking his head and trying to figure out a way to turn around and get back to the protection of the bay.
It was July 2009 and I was back in Nunavut at the village called Coral Harbour on Southampton Island at the north end of Hudson Bay. The water was so rough that we had to go back into the village and wait until it calmed down.
I was on a walrus hunt in Hudson Bay and to do some Arctic char fishing. I was hoping for a little adventure... if I only knew what was to happen over the next few days, I wouldn’t have believed it.
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| The polar bear between the author, his guide, and the boat. |
We waited overnight for the water to calm down and then headed out for a small island named ‘Walrus Island’ some 60 miles out in Hudson Bay. We stopped half way there and fueled the boats up out of 45-gallon drums we had on board and then continued on.
After about four hours, we stopped the boats but it was so foggy we couldn’t see twenty metres in any direction. Once the boats were turned off, we could hear a grunting noise coming from the fog. My guide Luke grinned and said, “Walrus.”
We waited a few hours until the fog lifted and there they were, hundreds of walrus’ up on the rocks of the island. We moved the boat around the island and there on the shore was a sow polar bear with her cub. Luke says that they have walrus on the brain too.
WOW! Third day and my first walrus and polar bear sighting on the same island, adventure here we come.
We moved the boat into shore out of site of the walrus’—the bears had moved off. After a half hour walk over the rocks, we were above the walrus’, lots of them all bunched together. Hmmm... this might not be as easy as I was told it might be.
I lay up on the rocks for about three hours, trying to find a bull walrus that I wanted to take. Finally, Luke said, “Let’s go back to the boat for lunch.” As we headed back, we came around a large rock and there stood a big male polar bear about 25 yards away. He just stood there. We yelled at him but he just stood there! We yelled again and this time he slowly turned and walked away. I was wondering if he was coming over for the walrus’ or us!
After lunch, we headed back towards the walrus’ and up about 200 metres away on a ridge was Mr. bear, sitting on his behind watching us. These bears have learned that there can be an easy meal once a hunter harvests a walrus. This bear was telling us to hurry up and get with it.
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| Darren Cooney with guide Luke Eetuk and his bull walrus. |
We spent another four hours looking over the walrus’ and watching our bear friend. All of a sudden, a walrus that had been swimming came up on the rocks. That is what I had come for. About an hour later, I made two good shots on the large bull and had my walrus. But wait! Another walrus that had been beside mine started to push on mine as it was trying to get into the water. Yup, there goes my walrus off the rocks into Hudson Bay. I had to sit down, as I had just went from a high of getting a huge bull to seeing it roll into the water. If we can’t see my bull in the water, my hunt is over and no trophy.
We waited until the water cleared and there he was, but he is too deep to harpoon. Lyle, my other guide, stripped down and dove in with a harpoon but the big bull is still too deep and the water is too cold. Then we have an idea to take the ridgepole of our tent and lash the harpoon to it so we can reach the bull. It works and I have a real good bull walrus. Talk about the highs and lows and then highs again of hunting.
We butchered the 3000-pound walrus while Mr. polar bear moved closer to us for a better look, so we had to keep one person on the lookout for him as we loaded the meat into the boat. We took the meat back to Coral Harbour for the villagers who all came down for some until it was all gone.
The next few days were spent catching hundreds of Arctic char; keeping a few each day for supper... life is good!
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| Beluga whale harvest. |
Then more adventure, as about 70 beluga whales had been chased into the shallows by some killer whales. The villagers headed out with harpoons and rifles. When all was over, they had harvested 20 beluga whales for their winter meat. The first thing we did was pull all the whales close to shore. Then we all sat around eating raw whale. I think the elder Inuit’s got a bit of a kick out of me jumping right in to help.
After we butchered the whales, there was nothing left on shore except a few scraps for the birds. The rest was taken to the village to be stored for the winter. An older Inuit woman came over to me and held out a ULU (the traditional Inuit knives) and said, “You keep.” Luke said for me to take it, as I had shared my walrus meat, helped with the beluga whales and most importantly, had not judged the people. I have this knife at home as a reminder of this great trip.
In one week, I had experienced more adventure than most people would see in a lifetime. I would like to say thank you to all the Inuit people that showed me a great time while I was in Nunavut. ■
For previous Reader Stories click here.
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