The WMACs (North Slope and Northwest Territories) have completed a multi-year polar bear traditional knowledge study. This project complements existing and proposed research efforts (population survey, harvest monitoring, coastal polar bear survey and denning survey) and will be used to direct management actions on a local and national scale.

Inuvialuit knowledge of polar bears was collected through interviews in 2010, with individuals in each of the six Inuvialuit Settlement Region communities - Tuktoyaktuk, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbor, Ulukhaktok, Aklavik and Inuvik. The documentation of this traditional knowledge represents a landmark in the study of polar bears and their world. Topics addressed include: Inuvialuit traditional knowledge related to polar bears, how polar bears behave and interact with their world, climate change observations, population trends, and the relationship between polar bears and Inuvialuit.

You can download the results of the study below.