News from Timmins: Peawanuck First Nation police alert polar bear poking around schoolyard

WARNING: The above video and the following article contain images and details that may be disturbing to some readers.

Police and local hunters have “killed” an arctic fox in a First Nation community in northern Ontario that was behaving abnormally and treating the area as a hunting ground, according to a police statement.

On the afternoon of March 13, officers from the Nishnawbe Aksi Police Service (NAPS) received a distress call regarding a polar bear near Weenusk First Nation, a remote northern Ontario community in Peawanuck, approximately 30 kilometres south of Hudson Bay.

“When police arrived, they noticed large bear paw prints in the schoolyard area,” a new police statement said.

During a search, police received another call that the same bear had been spotted in another part of the community.

Through their investigation, the police concluded that the bear was on its way back to the schoolyard.

According to police, the suspected bear cave was located in a nearby forest within the municipality.

After consulting with local wildlife experts, NAPS officers determined that the bear was exhibiting stalking behavior.

“Police have learned that the bear most likely viewed people in the area, especially children, as potential prey,” police said.

The situation was made even worse by the fact that a communal scavenger hunt was due to take place shortly, which would have led the children directly to the alleged bear cave.

Based on this information and further consultations with First Nation elders, it was decided that “killing” the animal was the only way to ensure public safety.

With the help of local hunters, the officers managed to track down and kill the bear a short time later.

Officers from the Nishnawbe Aksi Police Service, along with local hunters in the Far North First Nation community of Peawanuck, “harvested” a polar bear that was using the area as a hunting ground on March 13, 2024. (Supplied by Nishnawbe Aksi Police Service)

“The officers and members of the local community involved were performing a traditional prayer ceremony,” police said.

Officials say the meat will be used to feed the local community, and trained elders will harvest the fur and other items for use in traditional crafts and future ceremonies.

NAPS stated that it makes every effort to protect wildlife within the scope of its duties.

“An animal will only be killed if it poses a real and immediate threat to the safety of the community and there is no other reasonable course of action,” police said.