Polar bear wins tug of war with Nunavut man over beluga

Peter Kaludjak of Arviat, Nunavut, caught a beluga whale in Hudson Bay this week, only to have a polar bear also take an interest in it.

Kaludjak and his hunting partner caught the beluga whale about 120 kilometres from the community.

A polar bear spotted them, swam over and began a tug of war over the whale.

The bear won.

"We got the rope and we were going backwards with the boat, trying to get it off the polar bear and the rope snapped on us, so we decided not to bother it," Kaludjak said.

Kaludjak says the bear got so close to his boat he could almost touch it. He said the bear had red eyes and was very skinny.

The hunters watched it take the carcass to a nearby island where it and four other bears ate it.

Kaludjak says he waited until the coast was clear to go and retrieve the harpoon and spear he had used to catch the whale, which were gifts his late brother had made for his son.