Canadian Parliament Dines on Seal

Inuit stone marker inukshuk now a popular lawn ornament

(NEWSER) - The answer to the head-scratching surrounding the Vancouver Olympics logo—“It looks like an alien,” says one spectator—is a head-scratching name: inukshuk. It means “something that substitutes for a person” in Inuit, and denotes a traditional marker built to mark camp sites or memorialize tragedy. It’s also the roundabout inspiration for Vancouver’s anthropomorphized version and a craze that’s sweeping Canada. More»

Canadian youth rescued from Arctic ice floe

(NEWSER) - A 17-year-old Inuit youth is in a local hospital with hypothermia after spending over 24 hours stranded on a drifting ice floe in Canada's Hudson Bay with three polar bears. The teen became separated from his uncle as the two walked back toward a settlement after their snowmobile broke down during a hunting trip, the Toronto Star reports. More»

'Delicious' gesture meant to show support for Inuit hunts

(NEWSER) - When in Rome, do as the Romans do. And in Canada's Arctic, that means gutting a freshly slaughtered seal, slicing out its heart, and chowing down, reports AFP. Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean kicked off a tour of the region yesterday by dining on raw seal as a gesture of support to Canada’s Inuit population, on edge after the EU recently banned seal products. The Queen’s rep said the raw meat was “like sushi” and declared it “absolutely delicious.” More»

(NEWSER) - Canada has a message for Europe: Keep your mitts off our Arctic. The government has begun a multi-pronged strategy that combines tough diplomatic talk with a flurry of cultural events across the continent that stress the nation's long ties to the region, the Globe and Mail reports. Canada knows it will have to deal with Russia and the US on territory; it's most worried about European nations with no logical claim. “Europeans need to learn the Arctic is not terra incognita,” one former diplomat said. More»

Hunters kill 3% of polar bears each year

(NEWSER) - World leaders meet tomorrow in Norway to consider reducing polar bear hunting, reports the Independent. Conservation organizations estimate the polar bear population, particularly hard hit by global warming, will drop two-thirds to the brink of extinction over the next 50 years. Greenland, the US and Russia permit hunting by Inuit natives, and Canada also allows hunting by sportsmen. The hunts claim 700 polar bears annually, 3% of the total population. Critics consider such hunts "unsustainable harvests." More»