Enormous Skull Found In Alaska May Belong To The Legendary King Bear Of Inuit Mythology

Inuvialuit have been hunting polar bears – nanuq – in Canada's Western Arctic for many decades. Passing knowledge and understanding of polar bear hunting from one generation to the next, based on experience, is the very foundation of Inuvialuit wisdom and tradition.Inuvialuit hunters have seen hundreds of bears during their lifetime and have taken high risks, since polar bear hunting is an extremely dangerous endeavor. However, their passion and need for survival doesn't leave them many other choices. If you get a chance to be around them, you will definitely hear them talking about tiriarnaq or tigiaqpak (meaning weasel bear), an incredibly unique polar bear that is enormous, narrow-bodied and moves fast like a demon. Oral history and traditional knowledge in Inuit culture talks about weasel or king bears, and the huge, fully intact and unusually shaped polar bear skull that emerged in 2014 from an eroding archaeological site near Utqiaġvik has added more fuel to the fire.