Inuit Hunters Research Articles

Human geographies of sea ice: freeze/thaw processes around Cape Dorset, Nunavut, Canada

ABSTRACTSea ice has been, and continues to be, an integral component of life in the Inuit community of Cape Dorset, Nunavut. Located on an island of the same name off the southwestern coast of Baffin Island, the strong Hudson Strait currents prevent extensive ice formation around the community. Nevertheless, sea ice remains an important travel and hunting platform, enabling access to Baffin Island, hunting and fishing grounds, and nearby communities. With the combined importance, dynamism, and continuous use of this frozen ocean environment, local Inuit elders and hunters have developed a detailed and nuanced understanding of sea ice conditions, freeze/thaw processes, and the influences of winds and currents on ice conditions. Working collaboratively with the community of Cape Dorset since October, 2003, we present the results of 30 semi-directed interviews, 5 sea ice trips, and 2 focus groups to provide a baseline understanding of local freezing processes (near-shore, open water, sea ice thickening, landfast ice, floe edge, and tidal cracks), melting processes (snow melt, water accumulation and drainage, break-up, and cracks/leads), wind influences on sea ice (wind direction and strength affecting sea ice formation, and movement), and current influences on sea ice (tidal variations and current strength affecting sea ice formation, movement, and polynya size/location). Strong emphasis is placed on Inuktitut terminology and spatial delineations of localised ice conditions and features. Therefore, this paper provides insights into local scale ice conditions and dynamics around Cape Dorset that are not captured in regional scale studies of Hudson Bay and/or Hudson Strait. Results have the potential to inform future research efforts on local/regional sea ice monitoring, the relationship between Inuit knowledge, language, and the environment, and addressing community interests through targeted studies.

From the medical front: Treadmills

I was asked to see John for intermittent chest pain. The tough Inuit hunter waited until his granddaughter returned to his bedside to translate, and I gradually learned his story. Like many patients from the high Arctic, John had undergone thoracoplasty for tuberculosis in the 1950s. He had probably

The role of seasonal migration in the near-total loss of caribou on south-central Canadian Arctic Islands

The role of seasonal migration in the near-total loss of caribou on south-central Canadian Arctic Islands

Effect of Embedded Lead Shot on Body Condition of Common Eiders

Abstract During waterfowl hunting a large number of birds are shot but not instantly killed. Some will die within a few days as a direct consequence of heavy injuries, whereas another proportion is only lightly injured and will survive for an extended period of time although their survival may still be affected. We predicted that embedded body shot (when not instantly lethal) will cause reduced body condition among common eiders (Somateria mollissima), as we assumed such birds to be physical disadvantaged (e.g., as to mobility and foraging) from their injuries. Among birds collected during 3 winters (2000–2002) by Inuit hunters and fishermen in Nuuk, southwest Greenland, we X-rayed and dissected 762 common eiders to extract information about embedded lead shot and body condition. After adjusting for structural body size, year and date of sampling, habitat, and sampling method, we found that embedded lead shot had a significant effect on juvenile body condition. Wounded juvenile birds carried on average 19...

Satellite Culture

Inuit hunters of the Igloolik region orient themselves on the land by understanding wind behaviour, snowdrift patterns, animal behaviour, tidal cycles, currents, and astronomical phenomena. Inuit wayfinding methods are burdensome to learn, requiring years of quiet tutoring and experience, but are perfectly reliable. Concern arose in the mid-I990s that younger, less experienced hunters were beginning to rely too heavily on mechanized conveyances and electronic navigational aids. The use of global positioning system {GPS} units, particularly, has been steadily growing in Igloolik. This paper discusses the changes wrought by GPS use against the backdrop of interacting social and technological change. It argues that an understanding of these changes requires a model of technology that depends on the patterns created by devices rather than the devices (or systems of devices) themselves. A paradigmatic theory of technology based on the work of the philosopher Albert Borgmann is presented, and a distinction is made between technology that is physically and socially engaging and technology that reduces engagement with experience of the land, people, and local knowledge. It is suggested that there is a risk of turning landscapes into constructed entities or commodities, which is what happens figuratively when we are too attentive to the map and not the territory.

Breeding and Non-Breeding Range of Canada, <em>Branta canadensis</em>, and Cackling Geese, <em>Branta hutchinsii</em>, in the Eastern Canadian Arctic

The accepted breeding distribution of Canada Geese from the Atlantic Population (Branta canadensis interior) in the eastern Canadian Arctic is currently confined to northern Québec and the south coast of Baffin Island. Here we provide evidence based on observations from scientific studies, Inuit hunters, and territorial Wildlife Officers that B. c. interior now breeds in growing numbers 500 km farther north on northeastern Baffin Island than previously reported. Cackling Geese (B. hutchinsii), which breed more widely across eastern Arctic Canada, to about 72°N, may also be increasing there. Moreover, individuals of both species are seen occasionally as far north as Ellesmere Island in small flocks and within migrating or moulting flocks of Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens) or Brant (B. bernicla hrota), though none of these far northern stragglers are known to have bred. Whether these observations reflect a recent range expansion or improved distributional knowledge from more intensive recent survey efforts remains unknown.

Global Warming: Arctic Climate: The Heat Is On

In November 2004, the Arctic Council, a coordinating body of the eight Arctic nations (Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Nor-way, Finland, Russia, and the United States) released its Arctic Climate Impact Assessment: Impacts of a Warming Arctic (ACIA). Emerging from the work of hundreds of scientists and incorporating indigenous knowledge about conditions in the Arctic, the ACIA paints a sobering picture of the effect of present and expected global warming on Arctic peoples and ecosystems. Although a few Arctic areas have cooled over recent decades, overall average surface air temperatures have risen almost twice as much as global averages. In Alaska and western Canada, temperatures have risen 3–4°C since 1954. For the whole Arctic, the ACIA projects additional warming of 4–7°C over the next century. These projections are not a worst-case scenario; they are based on low-to-middle projections from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The focus of the ACIA was not temperatures, though, but the ecological, cultural, and economic impacts of warming. A few impacts could be positive: marine transportation should improve as ice retreats from shorelines, and vegetation growth may also accelerate in warmer conditions, perhaps increasing food production. But land transportation has already become more difficult due to melting of permafrost; ice highways used to transport industrial and mining equipment are now available for shorter periods each winter. Ice-free oceans, combined with melting permafrost, have already resulted in severe erosion and coastal destruction in Alaska. In terms of ecology, the impacts are largely negative. Over the past few decades, the amount of boreal forest that burned each year has doubled, and the ACIA says forest insect outbreaks and forest fires are “very likely” to intensify. As ice continues to retreat from the Arctic Ocean, animals that live on or hunt under the ice, including polar bears and several seal species, could grow scarcer or even go extinct. Caribou in the giant Porcupine River herd in northwest Canada and Alaska are drowning as they cross rivers that normally are still ice when the animals migrate. Warming has also interfered with caribou feeding, says Craig Fleener, a wildlife biologist for the Gwich’in Council International, an indigenous group for whom the Porcupine River herd provides a material and cultural foundation. Repeated freezing and thawing, he says, creates a very hard, crusty layer on the ground that makes it hard for the caribou to reach the lichen that is their major food source. “What is really happening is rapid climate and environmental change that goes beyond our capability of adapting quickly enough,” says Fleener. “If the change happens over a long period, we can find new methods, a new place to live or harvest, but when you have rapid change, it is much more difficult [to adapt].” Hunters are also being affected more directly, says Sheila Watt-Cloutier, chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, one of six indigenous organizations that contributed to the report. “As a result of warming,” she says, “Inuit hunters are falling through the thinning ice.” Hunting is the basis of Inuit culture, she stresses, and an economic necessity because imported food prices reflect high transportation costs. The Inuit include 155,000 Arctic natives living in eastern Siberia, North America, and Greenland. The report is a wake-up call, says Jonathan Foley, director of the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, but not just for Arctic residents. Polar snow and ice reflect solar radiation out to space, he points out. As the snow and ice retreat, the Earth’s surface gets darker and absorbs more heat, warming the whole planet in a dangerous feedback loop where warming causes melting and melting causes warming. Watt-Cloutier observes that Arctic peoples already face the threat of high levels of organic pollutants such as dioxin and poly-chlorinated biphenyls that have drifted north through the atmosphere and now contaminate animal fat and human breast milk. With the prospect of greenhouse gases produced further south causing disproportionate warming in the Arctic, the region is once again “being poisoned from afar,” she says. Arctic people are resilient by necessity and tradition, says Watt-Cloutier, and they have come through enormous, sudden, tumultuous change in the last 50–60 years caused by the introduction of culture, technology, and foods from the temperate regions. But the Arctic way of life is wedded to a specific environment, and that environment is rapidly changing. While much of the press coverage of the ACIA report has focused on the possibility that polar bears could become extinct, she warns, “It’s not just about endangered species of animals. We ourselves are an endangered species.”

CLIMATE CHANGE AND RINGED SEAL (PHOCA HISPIDA) RECRUITMENT IN WESTERN HUDSON BAY

Climate warming is predicted to reduce the extent of ice cover in the Arctic and, within the Hudson Bay region, the annual ice may be significantly decreased or entirely lost in the foreseeable future. The ringed seal (Phoca hispida), a key species that depends on sea ice, will likely be among the first marine mammals to show the negative effects of climatic warming. We used 639 ringed seals killed by Inuit hunters from western Hudson Bay (1991–1992, 1999–2001) to assess trends in recruitment relative to snow depth, snowfall, rainfall, temperature in April and May, North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) from the previous winter, and timing of spring break-up. Snowfall and ringed seal recruitment varied from lower than average in the 1970s, to higher in 1980s and lower in 1990s. Prior to 1990, seal recruitment appeared to be related to timing of spring ice break-up which was correlated with the NAO. However, recent 1990–2001 environmental data indicate less snowfall, lower snow depth, and warmer temperatures in April and May when pups are born and nursed. Decreased snow depth, particularly below 32 cm, corresponded with a significant decrease in ringed seal recruitment as indicated by pups born and surviving to adults that were later harvested. Earlier spring break-up of sea ice together with snow trends suggest continued low pup survival in western Hudson Bay.

Reproductive rates of ringed seals and survival of pups in Northwestern Hudson Bay, Canada, 1991?2000

Reproductive parameters were determined from a sample of ringed seals collected by Inuit hunters during their annual open water harvest in autumn at Arviat, Nunavut, on the western coast of Hudson Bay, Canada, in 1991–1992 and 1998–2000. Ovulation rates of adult females were high and similar to rates recorded from studies of ringed seals in other geographic areas. However, pregnancy rates averaged only 55% and were significantly lower than in other studies, and the proportions of young-of-the-year were only 4.8, 4.2, 7.5, 4.1, and 23% for the mentioned years, respectively, instead of being >30% as expected. These results appear to indicate that reproductive parameters of ringed seals and survival of their young are exhibiting long-term shifts rather than short-term fluctuations, and that the trend is downward. Furthermore, these downward trends in reproduction, in conjunction with changes in the proportions of different seal species in the diet of polar bears, climatic warming in western Hudson Bay, and progressively earlier breakup of sea ice over the last 25 years, suggest that major changes are occurring in the marine ecosystem of Hudson Bay. The pathways involved are poorly understood and merit further study.

Gender diversity in developing overweight over 35 years of Westernization in an Inuit hunter cohort and ethno-specific body mass index for evaluation of body-weight abnormalities

To establish an Inuit body mass index (BMI) norm from a healthy, not malnourished, pure Inuit population and to investigate the development of overweight in the Inuit in Greenland. Longitudinal study with 35 years follow-up on overweight among Inuit in Greenland. The heights and weights of 97% of all inhabitants in Eastgreenland in 1963 (n=1852) were recovered recently and BMI calculated. We obtained similar data in 96% of the 50-69-year-old population in Eastgreenland in 1998 and in a random sample of 25% of individuals aged 50-69 years in the capital Nuuk (n=535). Overweight or obesity, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), was found in 30% of all men and 22% of all women in Eastgreenland in 1963, and in 31% of young Inuit hunters in 1963. Such high rates were incompatible with a hunter's way of living. Inuit-specific BMI norms from data on healthy Inuit aged 20-29 years in 1963 were computed: men, 20.2-27.9; women, 17.9-27.7. These differed from the WHO classification (P<0.001). Using the Inuit-specific BMI norm for the classification of 50-69-year-old Inuit in 1963 and 1998, the fraction of overweight men increased by over six times (4.0 to 25.6%; P<0.001), and overweight increased with Westernization (P=0.001). The fraction of overweight women by the Inuit BMI norm doubled from 1963 to 1998 (14.0 to 30.7%; P<0.001) while median BMI remained unaltered (P=0.22) because the fraction of slim women more than doubled (3.5 to 9.0%; P<0.001). A steep increase in the fraction of overweight Inuit men and women calls for intervention. Westernization predicted increased BMI. In women the increased number of obese people was accompanied by an increased fraction of slim people. This illustrates that transition can be modified and indicates that monitoring of populations in transition should observe gender differences. Finally, the historical data argue against the global applicability of the WHO delineation of normal BMI.

Effect of ancient Inuit fur parka ruffs on facial heat transfer

The traditional clothing system developed and used by the Inuit is the most effective cold weather clothing developed to date. One of the key elements used by the Inuit is a fur ruff attached to the hood, hem, and cuffs of their parkas. This paper determines why the fur ruff is so crit- ical to the effectiveness of cold-weather clothing, especially in protecting the face, without impeding movement or view, so essential to the Inuit hunter. To quantify the effectiveness of this clothing, heat transfer was measured on a model placed in a subsonic wind tunnel. The wind velocity and angle to the wind were varied. A boundary layer forms on the face, and heat transfer was measured across that layer using thermocouples. Different fur ruff geometries were examined to determine which was most efficient. The experimental results were combined with data collected using ethno-historical methods since 1970 by 2 of the authors. The traditional headgear proved to be the most efficient. The lowest heat transfer was found for the sunburst fur ruff geometry at different angles of attack and wind speeds. This unique combination of scientific and traditional Aboriginal knowledge provides a holistic perspective on new insights into the effectiveness of cold-weather clothing systems.

Polar Bear (&lt;i&gt;Ursus maritimus&lt;/i&gt;) Denning in the Area of the Simpson Peninsula, Nunavut

The locations of polar bear snow dens in winter on the Simpson Peninsula, Nunavut, and nearby islands to the northwest, and information on the sex and age class of a subsample of the occupants of 73 dens, were recorded from interviews with Inuit hunters at Pelly Bay, at intervals from 1937 to 1965 and 1968 to 1969. Hunting bears at winter dens, after locating them with the assistance of dogs, was legal during that period and was widely practiced throughout the Canadian Arctic. For embryos found in utero, mean litter size was 2.0, and two of the eight litters recorded from pregnant females contained three foetuses. Births appeared to occur from about December through early January. For cubs in dens, the mean litter size was 1.88. No litters of three cubs were recorded in winter dens or nearby after departure of the family back to the sea ice in spring. Females accompanied by yearling or two-year-old cubs, subadults, and adult males were also recorded in winter dens during periods of cold weather. The locations of a total of 191 snow dens, occupied during winter, were reported by hunters and marked on maps from memory. Of 180 dens for which the sex of the occupant was recorded, 148 contained females (alone or with an unspecified number of cubs) and 32 had lone males.

Smoking as a determinant of high organochlorine levels in Greenland.

The authors investigated the accumulation of organochlorines among smoking and nonsmoking Inuit hunters (n = 48) in Uummanaq, Greenland, a population with high dietary exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Human plasma organochlorine levels were positively correlated with age, marine diet, and smoking or plasma cotinine in multiple linear-regression models (p < 0.001). Body mass index was inversely correlated with organochlorine accumulation, independent of smoking status. These findings confirm that the source of POPs among the Inuit in Greenland is diet, but smoking is an important determinant of POP bioaccumulation. Smoking cessation may provide a means to lower the body burden of POPs.

Polar Bears and Seals in the Eastern Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf: A Synthesis of Population Trends and Ecological Relationships over Three Decades

In the eastern Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf, research on polar bear populations and their ecological interrelationships with seals and sea ice conditions began in the fall of 1970. Analysis of movement data from mark-recapture studies and tracking of adult female bears with satellite radio collars indicated that there are two populations of polar bears in the area, one that inhabits the west coast of Banks Island and Amundsen Gulf and a second that is resident along the mainland coast from about Baillie Islands in Canada to approximately Icy Cape in Alaska. Polar bears throughout the Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf were severely overharvested before the establishment of quotas in Canada in 1968 and the cessation of all but subsistence polar bear hunting in Alaska in 1972. Since then, both populations have recovered, and the population estimates currently used for management purposes are 1200 and 1800 for the Northern and Southern Beaufort populations, respectively. However, these population estimates are now dated and should be redone. Most female polar bears in the Beaufort Sea breed for the first time at 5 years of age, compared to 4 years of age in most other populations, and cubs normally remain with their mothers for 2.5 years prior to weaning. Heavy ice conditions in the mid-1970s and mid-1980s caused significant declines in productivity of ringed seals, each of which lasted about 3 years and caused similar declines in the natality of polar bears and survival of subadults, after which reproductive success and survival of both species increased again. The changes in the sea ice environment, and their consequent effects on polar bears, are demonstrable in parallel fluctuations in the mean ages of polar bears killed each year by Inuit hunters. In 1989, the decadal-scale pattern in fluctuations of ice conditions in the eastern Beaufort Sea changed in response to oceanographic and climatic factors, and this change has resulted in greater amounts of open water in recent years. In addition, climatic warming will be a major environmental factor if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase. It is unknown whether the ecosystem will return to the pattern of decadal-scale change exhibited in previous decades, or how polar bears and seals will respond to ecological changes in the future, but research on these topics is a high priority.

Promiscuity: An Evolutionary History of Sperm Competition

Males are promiscuous and ferociously competitive. Females--both human and of other species--are naturally monogamous. That at least is what the study of sexual behavior after Darwin assumed, perhaps because it was written by men. Only in recent years has this version of events been challenged. Females, it has become clear, are remarkably promiscuous and have evolved an astonishing array of strategies, employed both before and after copulation, to determine exactly who will father their offspring. Tim Birkhead reveals a wonderful world in which males and females vie with each other as they strive to maximize their reproductive success. Both sexes have evolved staggeringly sophisticated ways to get what they want--often at the expense of the other. He introduces us to fish whose first encounter locks them together for life in a perpetual sexual embrace; hermaphrodites who joust with their reproductive organs, each trying to inseminate the other without being inseminated; and tiny flies whose seminal fluid is so toxic that it not only destroys the sperm of rival males but eventually kills the female. He explores the long and tortuous road leading to our current state of knowledge, from Aristotle's observations on chickens, to the first successful artificial insemination in the seventeenth century, to today's ingenious molecular markers for assigning paternity. And he shows how much human behavior--from the wife-sharing habits of Inuit hunters to Charlie Chaplin's paternity case--is influenced by sperm competition. Lucidly written and lavishly illustrated, with a wealth of fascinating detail and vivid examples, Promiscuity is the ultimate guide to the battle of the sexes.

Delineating Canadian and Greenland polar bear (Ursus maritimus) populations by cluster analysis of movements

Within their circumpolar range, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are not subject to absolute barriers. However, physiographic features do cause discontinuities in their movements. These discontinuities in distribution can be used to delineate population units. Based on satellite telemetry of the movements of female polar bears carried out in 1989–1998, we used cluster analysis to identify 6 regions within the Canadian and western Greenland Arctic in which movements appear to be restricted enough to identify distinct populations. These regions generally correspond to management units that have been previously identified as Viscount Melville Sound, Lancaster Sound, Norwegian Bay, Kane Basin, Baffin Bay, and Davis Strait. A north–south substructure was identified for the Baffin Bay population, but it was weaker than the structure identified for the 6 primary units. The 6 units were consistent with genetic information, except for the Baffin Bay – Kane Basin separation, and with mark–recapture observations and the traditional knowledge of Inuit hunters. Only 2 of 65 bears that provided telemetry information for more than 1 year were classified in different populations in different years. However, annual rates of exchange, measured as the percentage of locations outside the population boundary, ranged from 0.4 to 8.9%. Analysis of mark–recapture movements indicated no difference in large-scale movements between the sexes or long-term movements with age. Although our validation criteria for demographic closure were satisfied, the observed rates of exchange between adjacent populations suggest that population dynamics in adjacent populations may not be completely independent.

Hematology and Plasma Chemistry as Indicators of Health and Ecological Status In Beluga Whales, Delphinapterus Leucas

The capture of beluga whales, Delphinapterus leucas , for instrumentation or tagging afforded the opportunity to collect blood, which was analyzed to evaluate the animals' health and gain information on basic physiological systems. Here, we report on hematological and plasma chemical constituents in samples obtained from 183 belugas, 55 of which were handled during attempts to apply tracking instruments. The other 128 samples were either drawn from live belugas captured for exhibit in zoological parks or research or obtained from the fresh carcasses of whales taken by Inuit hunters. The data span a 15-year period beginning in 1983 and represent various beluga stocks in the Canadian Arctic. The majority of the specimens were collected during the summer or estuarine phase of the belugas' annual cycle. Comparisons by age group, sex, stock, season, and year revealed significant differences in most of the cellular and chemical constituents examined. These results demonstrate some of the variability that might be encountered when examining a random selection of belugas at a particular location and time. Immature-sized whales had higher leucocyte counts, electrolyte concentrations, enzyme activity, total protein, albumin, hemoglobin, and some metabolites than older animals. Sex alone was associated with few hematological and plasma chemical differences. Seasonal variation in thyroid hormone activity was linked to marked environmental changes associated with the transition from cold oceanic waters to relatively warm estuaries. Two belugas recaptured 19 and 24 days after instrumentation showed changes in leucocyte counts, hematocrit, and a variety of plasma chemical constituents, some of which indicate inflammation and a likely physiological response to handling and tagging stresses.

Government, Culture and Sustainability in Greenland: A Microstate with a Hinterland

In population terms Greenland is one of the world's smallest states, but it occupies one of the world's largest land masses. It also brings together two very different cultures, those of the indigenous Inuit hunter society and those of the Danish colonial administration. There is now a substantial measure of self-government, building on what this article sees as a surprising measure of common ground between the cultures. Today economics and technology present significant challenges, and the article suggests that the cause of social sustainability will not be well served by giving in to contemporary global pressures.

Observations of Marine Birds and Mammals Wintering at Polynyas and Ice Edges in the Belcher Islands, Nunavut, Canada

In the Belcher Islands, southeast Hudson Bay, Canada, two types of open water exist during winter: 1) large, wind-driven expanses of water along landfast ice edges and 2) recurring polynyas located between small islands (most &lt;10 ha and &lt;15 m deep). In severe winters, only polynyas persist. In March 1998 and 1999, we recorded the species and numbers of birds and marine mammals present at ten polynyas and along four landfast ice edges around the Belcher Islands. To help interpret our observations, we also collected traditional ecological knowledge from local Inuit. Large flocks of common eiders Somateria mollissima (200-12500 birds) were seen along floe edges, and small groups occurred in some polynyas. King eiders S. spectabilis were also observed at several locations, always associated with common eiders. Oldsquaw ducks Clangula hyemalis were common (flocks of 100-500 birds) and occurred primarily at polynyas. Our observations of king eiders represent a significant northern range expansion for this species in Canada during winter. Ravens Corvus corax and snowy owls Nyctea scandiaca were observed along landfast ice edges. Ravens were feeding on the remains of seals killed by Inuit hunters and polar bears Ursus maritimus, and owls apparently hunted sea ducks that were loitering on ice edges at night. We regularly observed bearded seals Erignathus barbatus and ringed seals Phoca hispida at polynyas and floe edges. One beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas was observed by our Inuit guides along a western landfast ice edge, and three walrus Odobenus rosmarus were observed at a floe edge along the southern margin of the Belcher Islands. Clearly, the small recurring polynyas and ice floe edges around the Belcher Islands are important wintering habitat for oldsquaw and common and king eider ducks.

Bone fluoride concentrations in beluga whales from Canada.

Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from the St. Lawrence Estuary have been reported to have dental and bone abnormalities. To determine whether these lesions could be caused by high exposure to fluorides, we measured bone fluoride levels in eight beluga whales stranded on the shores of the St. Lawrence Estuary (Quebec, Canada), and in nine beluga whales killed by Inuit hunters in the Hudson Bay (North Western Territories, Canada). In both groups, fluoride concentrations were higher than those found in terrestrial mammals intoxicated by fluorides. Unexpectedly, fluoride concentration was significantly higher in beluga whales from the Hudson Bay (mean +/- SD: 10.365 +/- 1.098 ppm) than in beluga whales from the St. Lawrence Estuary (4.539 +/- 875 ppm) and was positively correlated with age in the latter population. Differences in diet might explain the differences in fluoride concentrations found between these two populations.