Abstract 274 – Participatory assessment of Aklak (grizzly bear) abundance and distributionin the Kivalliq Region, Nunavut

Lauren Harding, Emil Arnalak, Russell Toolooktook, Malik Awan, Tayyab Shah,
Michaela Sidloski, Douglas Clark

Aklak (grizzly bear, Ursus arctos) are viewed by communities of the Kivalliq region, Nunavut, as
increasing in abundance. We used semi-structured interviews and participatory mapping
exercises in two communities, Arviat and Baker Lake (Qamani’tuaq), to elicit narratives of
encounters, estimates of spatial distribution and abundance, and knowledge of aklak ecology
from Inuit hunters and Elders. Inuit observations documented on maps during the interviews
were digitized and used along with reported harvest data (2008 to 2023) to estimate current
aklak abundance across the region using multiple spatial interpolation techniques. Validation
was conducted at workshops in each community in February 2023. Participants uniformly
emphasized an increase in the relative abundance of aklak across the Kivalliq region since the
beginning of the twentieth century, with rare encounters prior to the 1960s but frequent
encounters from the 1990s onward. Participants emphasize that aklak were not historically
abundant in the Kivalliq, suggesting a range expansion rather than a population recovering from
depletion. The distribution of aklak was primarily inland, with frequent encounters along lakes
and rivers, but with encounters in coastal areas increasing. Using Empirical Bayesian Kriging and
Inverse Distance Weighting to interpolate total aklak abundance based on the interview data,
we calculated a conservative density estimate of 2.91–4.07 aklak per 1000km2. The socio-
ecological context of the Kivalliq is not analogous to other regions in Canada, and study
participants emphasized that management policies and practices for aklak should be distinctive
to the region’s situation.