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Inuit hunters travel slowly by snowmobile while carefully pulling an 800-pound male polar bear to skin and clean on frozen sea ice surrounding open water in Hamilton Inlet on the Northern Coast of Labrador, Canada in March, 2018.
In Inuit culture, a polar bear remains a deeply respected animal, called Nanuk in the Inuktitut language, and getting one is still considered the mark of a great hunter. But thanks to today's indigenous-run conservation program, the polar bear population is healthy and being better protected through careful monitoring under the Nunatsiavut government's quota system. Only Inuit residents can apply for a licence, and it’s illegal to sell a licence to a big game hunter who is not from the region.