A Kaktovik whaling captain who shot and killed a polar bear eating butchered whale meat stored in front of his residence has been sentenced to three months in federal prison, followed by a year of supervised release.
According to court documents, Christopher Gordon, 36, pleaded guilty to killing the polar bear and leaving the harvestable remains to waste, in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Gordon was also fined $4,500.
During the sentencing U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline said that as an Alaskan Native that Gordon had the legal right to harvest the polar bear, but that despite numerous opportunities to do so, for subsistence or other purposes, he did not do so.
The judge also noted the importance of deterring similar incidents in the future. During his year-old period of supervised release, Gordon will not be permitted to hunt marine mammals with the exception of bowhead whales.
Bear resistant food storage lockers were available in Kaktovik, but Gordon had elected not to use them, and the meat from the bowhead what attracted the polar bear. Gordon acknowledged that he had not shot the polar bear in self-defense.
As an Alaska Native, Gordon is permitted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to hunt and kill polar bears and other marine mammals for subsistence purposes or for creating and selling authentic Native articles of handicrafts and clothing, but this cannot be done in a wasteful manner. Court documents said that between Dec. 20, 2018, and May 22, 2019, that Gordon left the polar bear carcass in his front yard without salvaging any portion of the polar bear and allowed it to become covered with snow.
About three weeks after Gordon killed the polar bear, a snow removal vehicle moved the polar bear carcass, ripping off one of its legs. While portions of the polar bear carcass were still salvageable after this happened, Gordon made no effort to salvage any part of the polar bear, including the pelt, claws or teeth. Then on May 22, 2019, Gordon had the polar bear carcass discarded and burned at the local dump without ever using or salvaging any parts.
