Contemporary brown bear use in Northwest Alaska
Loon H and Georgette S. 1989. Contemporary brown bear use in Northwest Alaska. Alaska Department of Fish and Game Subsistence Technical Paper. 163. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Subsistence. Kotzebue, AK
Adjacent to/nearby BERLABRI. This report documents the subsistence harvests and uses of brown bears and is focused on the Kotzebue Sound area; research was also undertaken in the Norton Sound area. Study communities included Buckland, Kivalina, Kotzebue, Noatak, Nome, Norvik, Selawik, Shaktoolik, Shungnak, Unalakleet, and White Mountain. Information was gathered primarily by interviews plus harvest records and existing literature. The research took place in 1987 and 1988. In 1987, an estimated 35-48 brown bears were harvested by subsistence hunters from the study communities. This study showed that coastal communities rarely used brown bears for food whereas inland communities regularly ate the meat. Most subsistence brown bear hunts in the study area take place in spring and fall; most bears are taken opportunistically rather than as the result of a dedicated hunt. Brown bear meat is preserved by freezing, drying, or aging and the fat is prized as a medicine. Brown bear hunting is governed by Natives using an extensive array of traditional law and lore. Sharing patterns are described as are traditional knowledge and beliefs.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Loon, Hannah; Georgette, Susan
- Date of Issue
- 1989
- Publisher
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Subsistence
- Units
- BELA , CAKR , GAAR , KOVA , NOAT
- Keywords
- Alaska, Alaska Natives, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Brown Bear, Brown Bears, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Carnivores, Culture, Harvest, Hunting, Kobuk Valley National Park, Kotzebue Sound, Mammals, Noatak National Preserve, Population, Regional Information, Regulations, Subsistence, Terrestrial Mammals, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Ursus arctos