The Department of Justice’s Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that a Kaktovik man faces federal charges for knowingly taking a polar bear in a manner unlawful under
the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and has been charged with Wasteful Taking of a Marine Mammal.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opened an investigation this Spring after it was discovered that 35-year-old Christopher Gordon of Kaktovik shot and killed a polar bear in his yard after it got into whale meat that he had left out in his yard for a “substantial amount of time,” and was not properly stored.

It was determined that the shooting was not done in self-defense.

After he shot the bear on December 20th, he left the carcass in his yard without salvaging any edible meat from it. As winter progressed, the bear was covered in the snow and when a plow truck plowed the area a leg of the bear was torn off.

The carcass was left without taking any portion for subsistence purposes and on May 22nd, the bear was hauled to the dump and burned.

If Gordon is convicted on the charges, he faces a sentence of up to one year and a $100,000 fine.

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