North 2003
Section Index
Big game pays offDall sheep bring in $19,000, polar bear $43,000 / Survey says: Hunters satisfied with Northern hospitality
Big-game hunting is making a comeback and is bringing big money with it to the North.
Hunters spend $8 million a year in the Northwest Territories - an average of $13,500 per trip, not including airfare - compared to other tourists who spend an average of $453.
Most come for caribou. The season is open from Aug. 15 to Oct. 31. The majority of the hunters were American and were guided by one of 10 outfitting companies.
Most hunters happy
In an NWT government survey last year, 84 per cent of hunters gave their excursion high ratings and 96 per cent said they'd come back again. Only three per cent were not satisfied.
Dall's sheep hunters reported spending an average of $19,000. The sheep roam the Northwest Territories' Mackenzie Mountains in the Sahtu region, close to Norman Wells.
There is also an opportunity to hunt grizzly bear in the North, but the hunts are uncommon.
Sport hunting is also a key industry in Nunavut, with four species targeted: caribou, muskox, polar bear and walrus.
Bears big draw
Every year about 50 sport hunts are sold in Nunavut. Polar bear hunters - usually wealthy Americans - spend the most, averaging $43,000 per trip.
On top of the money they pay for tags and guides, sport hunters also buy air transportation, hotel rooms and native arts.
Last autumn, Hall Beach hunting guide Ike Angotautok led his sixth walrus hunt out of the community. Angotautok also takes polar bear hunts and sport fishing trips.
In Hall Beach every Inuk is allowed to kill four walrus and sports hunters pay $6,500 to hunt the animals. Guides are paid about $200 per person per day for a walrus trip.
-Updated August 2003
