PHOTOS: Hunting seals in Greenland
Nielsen butchered the seal at home in Tasiilaq later that night. A family needs a minimum of 10 seals in the freezer in advance of the winter months, he said, plus more to feed sled dogs.
TASIILAQ, Greenland – There are two grocery stores in this town of 2,000 people, stocked with imported Danish food. For many families, however, the bulk of their protein intake comes from seals, fish, whales and the occasional polar bear hunted from the nearby fjords.
Sealskin kayaks and homemade harpoons are things of the past. Inuit hunters today take to the water with scope rifles and diesel boats equipped with satellite navigation.
GlobalPost accompanied Tasiilaq local Julius Nielsen, 35, on a hunt in the Sermilik Fjord. Although the boat sailed through waters where killer whales are often found this time of year, on the day of the hunt there were none to be seen. We still can’t decide how we feel about that.