S06.E01: Icebreaker

[Quilt Fairy]

From the TV listings:

Quote

Ten new survivalists have a chance to win $500,000 by enduring the coldest location the series has visited: the Arctic; participants grapple with a harsh storm out of the gate. 

Premiers Thursday, June 6th.  There doesn't appear to be a meet and greet episode, we charge right in. 

Edited June 5, 2019 by Quilt Fairy

[MostlyContent]

Nathan doesn't bring a ferro rod.  WAIT.  WHAT?  

[Quilt Fairy]

49 minutes ago, MostlyContent said:

Nathan doesn't bring a ferro rod.  WAIT.  WHAT?  

I can't imagine what item he thought would be more important than an easy way to have fire.  In the Arctic.   He must be very confident in his skills.

That was a very decent first episode.  Seemed very "old school" Alone, if that phrase can be used on a show that's only had 5 previous seasons.  Tim, the one guy who was pinging my asshole meter, broke his leg on Day 4, so that's a win for me.  Although I did like that he was properly pissed at what he did and how many people would have liked to have had his spot. 

That was a lot of large animal sightings for one episode of this show.  Actual large animal sightings, no random wolf in the distance that might have been spliced in. Looks like everyone is prepped more for hunting than fishing.  

[4N6MAL]

Nathan is dumb! 🔥

[MostlyContent]

2 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Tim, the one guy who was pinging my asshole meter, broke his leg on Day 4, so that's a win for me. 

Same!  He was already trying to be funny when (to me) he was clearly not.  

I was reading through the ten items each person chose, and I was amazed at how many people this year did not choose even one emergency ration.  Only one man chose two.  I also noticed that two emergency rations was the limit this year.  Sounds like production doesn't want to stick around for long.  !! 

[mlp]

I watch this show knowing full well that it was filmed some time ago and whatever happens as I watch is long over and done with but it still makes me nervous.  "I hear something" during the dark of night apparently scares me more than it does the happy campers.  It already looks like we're going to see more injuries and disasters than in previous seasons.

My least favorite person from this first batch of contestants is already gone.  I'm not sure what I think of the woman.  She seemed to have knowledge and skills but she also seemed to be a bit of a kook.  I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of the field next week.  

[LeighAnne]

It's amazing to me that Alone is in its sixth season and in every season a person/team has dropped out or had to leave in the first week.  I'm sorry that Tim broke his leg --- terrible luck.  He was smart enough to put on weight before the challenge started.

Quote

Nathan doesn't bring a ferro rod.  WAIT.  WHAT?  

I said, "WHAT!?!" so loudly my cat looked up.  You're going to new terrain and you have no idea what the available wood or weather is like.  I know that you're skilled at fires in your home woods, but you're not in your home woods.

I'd also like to note that in the Patagonia season, it didn't start snowing until Day 51 (I think).  I remember it was about two months before the snow came.  On this season, it starting snowing on Day 5.  So either it started snowing earlier than anyone anticipated or the producers thought, "F**k it; let's throw them in the deep end immediately."

From the previews (I know, the previews are often wrong, but assuming they are accurate) it looks like the contestants are catching a lot of game this season (squirrel, wolverine, maybe a moose?).  Good for them.

Edited June 7, 2019 by LeighAnne

[Auntie Anxiety]

9 hours ago, mlp said:

It already looks like we're going to see more injuries and disasters than in previous seasons.

Every time we see someone hacking away with an axe or a knife, I get chills. There have been so many accidents caused by sharp objects in years past.

[humbleopinion]

Encouraged by the 4 the show spotlighted last night...no one seemed to be cast for their looks or sob story...

Guess Tim put on so much weight he couldn't see his feet and mis stepped breaking his leg on that "broken plates" surface....too bad he didn't use the shovel he found like a walking stick...filming, walking and talking led to his accident....he had the ideal drop site with that boggy area to attract game...

Nathan got humbled real quick when he couldn't get a fire started minute one.

His gamble of no ferro rod paid off when his gill net snagged that large trout...the plastic bucket wasn't appetizing but the fillets looked good.

 Now will keeping a fire going be a problem for Nathan...he really needs to build a shelter with a fireplace and hearth to keep warm....he has ample fish protein to fuel his work to cut logs and build a permanent shelter when he finds his ideal location....

Hope he made fish broth with the bones and head...waste not want not...

 Barry shot Mr. Squirrel so he had a meal...

Nikki- liked that she lived in the bush not just studied you tube videos, is a wilderness guide and commercial fisherman

[Drogo]

"I told her I was going to the North Pole.  She told me to give Santa Claus a hug. I know that fat bastard lives around here somewhere."

Come on.. that's funny. 

[ProfCrash]

hmmm I guess I'll have to go and see if my DVR recorded it.

[Charlesman]

13 hours ago, MostlyContent said:

Nathan doesn't bring a ferro rod.  WAIT.  WHAT?  

My (mostly not-really serious) conspiracy theory is that he tried really, really hard to get a fire going with sticks, saw his camera had stopped recording, and decided to use that as cover to pop out the battery and used a bit of wire to jumper its connections to get a spark ;)

[Quilt Fairy]

1 hour ago, Charlesman said:

My (mostly not-really serious) conspiracy theory is that he tried really, really hard to get a fire going with sticks, saw his camera had stopped recording, and decided to use that as cover to pop out the battery and used a bit of wire to jumper its connections to get a spark 😉

That was rather suspicious timing. 

Along with "I just took a 3 hour tour of my area that I didn't film and oh look I found some great wood to start a fire."
 

Quote

"I told her I was going to the North Pole.  She told me to give Santa Claus a hug. I know that fat bastard lives around here somewhere."

Come on.. that's funny. 

"Canadians."  *shakes head*  That was funny. 

Edited June 7, 2019 by Quilt Fairy

[rmontro]

I kind of feel silly that I put in the effort of learning Tim's name.  That was a pretty nice shot right through the squirrel's head though.  I don't think that thing suffered much.  Tim was bragging on about all the animals he was going to whack when he broke his leg.  Seems like karma, but he might have been able to back it up.

20 hours ago, MostlyContent said:

I was reading through the ten items each person chose, and I was amazed at how many people this year did not choose even one emergency ration.  Only one man chose two. 

That is surprising.  Once winter sets in, it seems like there would be little chance of getting food in the arctic.  An extra bag of food might make the difference (the guy with two bags is Brady, by the way).  IIRC, Sam (last season's winner) was still munching on his rice (or whatever it was) after everyone else had tapped out.

[dgpolo]

I think I will be surprised if they go 30 days. I watched the rerun of the first season (which I had never seen) and I was surprised at all the animals in that season compared to seasons 2-5, but it looks like this season has already surpassed that. The predators seem to be closer and the climate even worse. It seems they went with more hardcore hunters this season rather than just survivalists.

[muffkins]

All I can think is that this winter was so cold, and parts of the prairies got into the -50's (Celcius), that I can't see them staying out terribly long.  

[TVbitch]

No meet and greet episode? Putting them in so close to snow time? They really must want to shorten the season. Why?

I must admit, the only one I was rooting for this episode was the sadly fated squirrel enjoying its morning repast in the sun.  

[raven]

2 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

I must admit, the only one I was rooting for this episode was the sadly fated squirrel enjoying its morning repast in the sun.  

So was I.

I am...less than intrigued so far.  We haven't seen everyone so I'll keep watching; hopefully a personality will grab me and as always, I'm interested in the premise.  I wish we had the meet the contestants episode; we got brief glimpses but as I said, nothing too interesting to me yet.

[Quilt Fairy]

I think they put the contestants in about the same time every year, mid-late September.  But being that far North, when they know it can snow in August, it seems that they are stacking the deck for a short season. 

[MostlyContent]

9 hours ago, rmontro said:

I kind of feel silly that I put in the effort of learning Tim's name.  That was a pretty nice shot right through the squirrel's head though.  I don't think that thing suffered much.  Tim was bragging on about all the animals he was going to whack when he broke his leg.  Seems like karma, but he might have been able to back it up.

I believe that the gentleman who shot the squirrel so perfectly was Barry, not Tim.  The guy from CO.  

I am looking forward to next week, after reading their Bio's.  Seems to be some pretty heavy hitters this season.  OR they want us to think there are.  We shall see.  🙂

[Chit Chat]

5 hours ago, MostlyContent said:

Seems to be some pretty heavy hitters this season.  OR they want us to think there are.  We shall see. 

Every season most of the contestants brag about how they can bag some big game, but nothing ever comes of it.  Maybe some of these folks will have better luck.  I always feel bad for the ones who go out so quickly due to injury.  What a bummer!  I'm still sad that the fish hook got Carleigh.  I'd like to see them all make it at least a few weeks so they can have the experience they came for.  I think this one is going to be brutal though. 

[Quilt Fairy]

7 hours ago, MostlyContent said:

I believe that the gentleman who shot the squirrel so perfectly was Barry, not Tim.  The guy from CO.  

I think there are at least 2 men from Colorado.  There are also 3 women, although we only got introduced to one last night. 

[dgpolo]

I do have a question since I am no hunter and these people so far are talking big. Is it possible to bring down big game (moose) with the equipment they have, or a wolf or a bear? Would they be able to render a carcass with the equipment they have and before a predator smells the blood and comes for it? Would they be able to do what they need to do to preserve all the meat without predators coming for it either before or after it is preserved? Wouldn't they be basically covered in blood and be a big target? Are these kind of question supposed to be in a different thread?

[Ava]

Those are very good questions...wish I knew the answers!  It's going to be very interesting to see how they cope with extreme cold.  I noticed that other than 2 men from Colorado, the others seem to be from the Pacific Northwest and Texas.  The guy who didn't bring a farro rod so he could bring a gill net instead may regret that.  I can't even imagine how difficult it will be trying to make a fire in -20C using the friction method. I'm looking forward to seeing the others.  I think this season could be interesting.  Hope they last a long while!

[rmontro]

13 hours ago, MostlyContent said:

I believe that the gentleman who shot the squirrel so perfectly was Barry, not Tim.  The guy from CO.  🙂

I figured that if I wrote that down that I would probably have the wrong guy.  Oh well.  Whoever it was, it was an impressive shot.

Edited June 8, 2019 by rmontro

[Tanstaafl]

Hi Everyone, long time listener, first time caller. I've watched all the seasons of Alone and usually enjoy the program with the exception of the year that they had two person teams. I'm glad that it's back and in an area that I've lived in and close to sites I've visited.  I think that this will be a more difficult location than Vancouver Island, Patagonia, or even Mongolia due to the weather and the lack of resources.

I know that they are on Great Slave Lake, but does anyone know their exact location? I lived in Yellowknife for 11 years and from the promos with the Buffalo Airways DC3 I immediately thought of Plummer's Great Slave Lake Lodge at Taltheilei Narrows. From the little I saw in the promo it looks like the airstrip at the lodge, plus it would make sense for a base of operations as there is an airstrip that could be used until after freeze-up and you have power, plenty of accommodations,  and some level of internet communications.

Just looked at the credits and the locations were provided by the Lutselk'e First Nation so it's definitely the east arm of Great Slave Lake (GSL), but I'm not sure if it's close to Lutselk'e, out around Plummer's or maybe close to another lodge in the area.

Assuming this was shot starting in late August or early September 2018 as it looks from the foliage, I've checked the historical weather at Environment Canada and September was no problem, just a little above or below 0C most days, more below 0C as the month went on, October wasn't too bad either with temps from a few above 0C to single digits below. It wasn't until November that temps dipped into the -20C range. I can't see anyone doing more than about 60 - 90 days so I doubt that anyone made it to December when it started to get into the low -20C and high -30C temperatures.

Anyone who took a gill net should be okay provided they can get it into a decent area on the lake. There are lake trout and grayling plus most of the other northern fish - northern pike (jackfish), pickerel, whitefish. They will need to catch as much as possible as soon as possible though as the early September weather may have been cold enough to freeze any sheltered water early in the month. Did anyone bring an ice auger to set their nets once the ice is thick enough?

If the sites are about 10 km apart whether you get a moose going through your area will be a matter of what sort of habitat you have around you, basically the luck of the draw. It is a big animal though so getting one with a bow would be hard, but not impossible. It might require a few kilometers of tracking once shot before it bleeds out. Dressing a moose and packing the meat to your camp would not be a problem. Keeping it from predators (mainly bear) would be the issue but the weather looks like it would be cool enough to keep for a number of days while you smoke it.

The trees are what I always called scrub pine, not very tall or big around. Trying to cache meat in a tree may not even work to keep it away from bears. Even collecting enough wood may be a problem once it turns cold as chopping down a tree doesn't get you a lot of wood.

As for other animals, no way would I hunt a black bear with a bow but some people are crazy enough to do it. Another promo shows someone with a wolverine and that's pretty touch and go too as they are mean animals and would be likely to attack you. I'm assuming that it would have been snared and not shot with the bow.

If someone does get a moose or a bear they should be set food wise for a couple of months. Other than that you're looking at hares, squirrel, mice, ptarmigan. Shame that you can't shoot the ravens.

My guess is 60 days or less for whoever wins.

[Yeah No]

On 6/6/2019 at 11:22 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

I can't imagine what item he thought would be more important than an easy way to have fire.  In the Arctic.   He must be very confident in his skills.

Yeah, that and arrogant too.  Oh he's too good to need a ferro rod, doncha know?

That said I do think some of these people are a cut above some contestants from other seasons in terms of ability.  After 5 seasons we barely saw anyone kill a mouse much less hit a squirrel straight through the head with an arrow on freaking week ONE!  When I saw that I was like whoa!

Already we're getting teased and who knows if we'll ever see the actual footage of that woman where it looks like she's petting a lynx.  I was like, "Wait...what?"  I'm still not sure I really saw that.

Why do they so often make the older guy the asshole on competition shows?  I hate that.  As soon as I saw Tim walking in that rough area I knew he was the one to break something.  Given some of the teasers I'm not sure he's the only one to tap out after only a few days because of an injury.

Nikki's not ready for snow.  So why did she go to the freaking ARCTIC?  LOL  I thought I read on the screen that it's not all that uncommon for there to be snow in September there.  Didn't any of them research the area online for weather?  Although kook or not, Nikki's knowledge and experience is kind of impressive already.

Agreed with the above that they're stacking the deck for a shorter season and/or more gut wrenching drama toward the end as people push themselves to ever greater lengths to tolerate bad weather.

I too want to know exactly where they are on a larger map to get a bearing on their exact location.  I feel like they're being deliberately vague about that for some reason.

[Chit Chat]

13 hours ago, Tanstaafl said:

I'm glad that it's back and in an area that I've lived in and close to sites I've visited.  I think that this will be a more difficult location than Vancouver Island, Patagonia, or even Mongolia due to the weather and the lack of resources.

Thanks for all of the good info, Tanstaafl!  That is helpful.

[rmontro]

18 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I too want to know exactly where they are on a larger map to get a bearing on their exact location.  I feel like they're being deliberately vague about that for some reason.

They probably don't want people to know because:

1)  They might have future seasons there, and don't want people interfering with the filming or the contestants.

2)  They don't want tourists visiting the area.  Considering the predators and lack of resources, it could be dangerous for the inexperienced.  

[Token]

Bye Tim!  You were annoying and I didn't want you on my screen anyway.

The only person I like so far is the guy whose name I can't remember.  He was featured first and had a big beard when we saw him at home with his kid.  The other two people were annoying.  Neither seem to know anything about the Arctic, which is dumb.

I'm missing the intro episode.  It's hard to really care about anyone if I don't know anything about them.

[Token]

Is 'I-don't-need-fire-in-the-Arctic Nathan' also the one who said that he wasn't going to boil his water?

[Quilt Fairy]

2 hours ago, Token said:

The only person I like so far is the guy whose name I can't remember.  He was featured first and had a big beard when we saw him at home with his kid.

That was Barry from Colorado.

On a re-watch of the first episode, I noticed that at least 2 of the people are from Canada.  I think this is the first time someone other than Americans were allowed. 

[walnutqueen]

47 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

On a re-watch of the first episode, I noticed that at least 2 of the people are from Canada.  I think this is the first time someone other than Americans were allowed. 

There have been Canadians on every Season except 2 and 5 (S2 had a guy from Spain).

[Kelda Feegle]

It's legal to live in the woods for over a year and kill bears in Canada? That surprised me.

I wish that they were allowed to add a person if someone goes out in the first week, they could just make them stay the extra few days if they are the last to make it.

[HurricaneVal]

I"m curious as to why the guy with the big bushy beard shaved it off before going to the arctic.  That seems...counter intuitive.  Unless maybe production made him do it?

Full disclosure:  I despise the hipster trend of full bushy beards (blech), but they should be de rigeur for mountain man survival types.  You know.  Like you'd find on Alone...

[ProfCrash]

Finally watched and it was ok. No idea about names yet.

We have the dude who was older and broke his leg, which sucks. He was actually working to make the environment work and seemed to be a good shot. Too bad he wasn't watching his footing. It was nice that he was bummed not just for himself but the people who might have been selected who would have been watching their footing nad might not have broken their leg.

Dude who choose not to bring a ferro rode. Yeah, that was a stupid decision. He had better find some good fire starting stuff that he can tuck away and keep dry to make restarting his fire that much easier.

I think there were other people but I don't remember them.

I do think it sucks that they are starting so early in the snowy season. Hopefully we get some people who are able to build great igloos.

[Tanstaafl]

18 hours ago, rmontro said:

They probably don't want people to know because:

1)  They might have future seasons there, and don't want people interfering with the filming or the contestants.

2)  They don't want tourists visiting the area.  Considering the predators and lack of resources, it could be dangerous for the inexperienced.   

If the location is where I think it is they don't really have to worry about tourists visiting. There are no roads in the area. The end of the road is about 190 kms away at Yellowknife and 300 kms away at Hay River. The community of Lutselk'e is fly-in only as are all the fishing lodges in the area. There might be a little bit of boat traffic from Lutselk'e but early September and beyond is getting late for tourists in the area, basically the end of the tourist season. Great Slave Lake is a big, deep, cold lake and every year tourists or locals will get into trouble when weather comes up unexpectedly.

[Tanstaafl]

11 hours ago, Kelda Feegle said:

It's legal to live in the woods for over a year and kill bears in Canada? That surprised me. 

No it's not legal to kill bears without a hunting license, and in some cases specific hunting tags. The same would apply for moose, caribou, or the musk ox that was mentioned (although I don't think that the musk ox come that far south). From the credits it looks like they are on the local First Nations land so it's possible that they could have gotten special dispensation for limited hunting. Likewise with the fishing, gill netting would be restricted to the First Nations people so they have obviously given Alone permission. It's been a while since I lived in the Yellowknife area and land claims have progressed a lot since that time so I'm not up on all the ins and outs of what would be allowed.

[Tanstaafl]

2 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

I do think it sucks that they are starting so early in the snowy season. Hopefully we get some people who are able to build great igloos.

The first snow can be from late August through to early October. Only once can I recall it snowing at the start of September and staying when I lived in Yellowknife. Most likely the snow won't stay until late September. Great Slave Lake also has a big effect on the weather, both temperature and precipitation depending upon your location.

Their location is too far south for good snow to build igloos. You really need to get above the tree line where the snow is drier and the wind compacts it into very hard drifts.

It will however be interesting to see who comes up with the best shelter. Trees aren't very big and it will be a lot of effort to get enough wood. I don't think that we will see any of the elaborate shelters that we've seem on previous seasons.

Edited June 10, 2019 by Tanstaafl
tree line not tree like!

[pezgirl7]

On 6/8/2019 at 11:45 PM, Yeah No said:

Already we're getting teased and who knows if we'll ever see the actual footage of that woman where it looks like she's petting a lynx.  I was like, "Wait...what?"  I'm still not sure I really saw that.

I thought that was footage from her submission video to get on the show? Something she killed, but I guess by petting it, she was honoring it before eating it? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[HurricaneVal]

In this environment--much like when they were in Patagonia--it might come down to who has the best shelter.  When they were on Vancouver Island, a few of the winners and runners-up deployed the "hunker down" strategy where they pretty much found a hidey-hole (or made a hidey-hole) and spent a lot of their time--when not actively foraging/trapping/hunting/fishing--just essentially hibernating in place and conserving their energy.  This is a successful, though boring to the viewers (unless they have a great personality like the first winner, Alan) strategy.  

The folks who are interesting to watch are the ones who are out exploring, or making elaborate shelters, or devising clever ways to entertain themselves.  However, there is a trade-off there, doing that takes a lot of energy that needs a lot of caloric intake to compensate for the expenditure.   Remember the wife from the couples season who gave her all in the building of the shelter, and ended up exhausting herself and eventually taking her team out of the game?

Out in the Arctic, unless the perfect hidey-hole already exists in their territory (like Alan's hollow under the big nurse log from the first season), these contestants are going to have to build very good shelters, and expend that energy doing so.  They can't just set up a quick and easy tarp-walled tent like Sam did his first season and gut out the cold and wind.  That won't work, VI cold and wind ain't got nothin' on the Arctic cold and wind.  Which also means they're going to need to take in more calories, to make up for the energy used building the shelter.   This should be interesting.

Gill-net-for-ferro-rod guy is expending an enormous amount of energy just building his fire the old-fashioned way.  IF he can quickly build a decent shelter where he can effectively smoor and preserve his fire, he might do well with what he takes in via the gill net.  But it is a chancy balance: can he get that fire protected so he can reap the spoils in time before he's on the negative side of the energy equation?

I suspect it will be a short (real-time) season because of this.  But the short real-time season might get us some more in-depth sequences on all the individuals in the game in order to fill in screen time, not just peanut-butter spreading the screen time across all the players. 

[rmontro]

6 hours ago, Tanstaafl said:

If the location is where I think it is they don't really have to worry about tourists visiting. There are no roads in the area.

<snip>

Great Slave Lake is a big, deep, cold lake and every year tourists or locals will get into trouble when weather comes up unexpectedly.

All the more reason to not want tourists sightseeing.

[Chit Chat]

8 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Dude who choose not to bring a ferro rode. Yeah, that was a stupid decision.

Even if he can start a fire quickly at home, one has to know that Murphy's Law, or the Shit Happens rule will apply in these situations!  Of course maybe he'll do just fine and be happy that he didn't need it.  Only time will tell.  I imagine it will be a bitch worrying about keeping his fire going, knowing how hard it was to start the darn thing!  

[muffkins]

8 hours ago, pezgirl7 said:

I thought that was footage from her submission video to get on the show? Something she killed, but I guess by petting it, she was honoring it before eating it? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It was from the woman from Echo Bay's intro video.  She was talking about living off the land, and not being afraid of predators.  I assumed that the cougar she was stroking was one she had killed.

[Tighthead]

I just watched last night so I’ll dump a bunch of thoughts. 

Taking a gill net is smart, but not at the expense of the ferro. He will be under pressure to keep that fire smouldering. If he has to light a fire under duress it will be very hard. 

Definitely a season for a small shelter.  

I thought Tim was pretty cocky. Reminded me of Florida guy who nearly cried first night in season 1. I do sympathize that the filming creates a distraction. 

Of the people we met last night nobody seemed “goofy”. Looks primed to be a solid season. 

[endure]

On 6/6/2019 at 8:22 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

I can't imagine what item he thought would be more important than an easy way to have fire.  In the Arctic.   He must be very confident in his skills.

That was a very decent first episode.  Seemed very "old school" Alone, if that phrase can be used on a show that's only had 5 previous seasons.  Tim, the one guy who was pinging my asshole meter, broke his leg on Day 4, so that's a win for me.  Although I did like that he was properly pissed at what he did and how many people would have liked to have had his spot. 

That was a lot of large animal sightings for one episode of this show.  Actual large animal sightings, no random wolf in the distance that might have been spliced in. Looks like everyone is prepped more for hunting than fishing.  

I forgot this was on but catching up now.  Nathan brought a gill net instead of the fire starter and we already saw it pay off big for him.

Edited June 11, 2019 by endure

[Kelda Feegle]

On 6/11/2019 at 3:54 AM, Tanstaafl said:

No it's not legal to kill bears without a hunting license, and in some cases specific hunting tags. The same would apply for moose, caribou, or the musk ox that was mentioned (although I don't think that the musk ox come that far south). From the credits it looks like they are on the local First Nations land so it's possible that they could have gotten special dispensation for limited hunting. Likewise with the fishing, gill netting would be restricted to the First Nations people so they have obviously given Alone permission. It's been a while since I lived in the Yellowknife area and land claims have progressed a lot since that time so I'm not up on all the ins and outs of what would be allowed.

I was referring to the lady who said she and a friend spent 15 (?) months living in the forests near Vancouver Island where they hunted and killed two bears, and presumably the cougar (?) she is seen patting. That to me doesn't sound like a permit job. Would a permit be issued with restrictions on how bears can be hunted? One they trapped in a snare and stabbed with a spear. Please bear in mind, no pun intended, that I am Australian so I genuinely do not know how these things work in Canada or the USA.

[ProfCrash]

2 hours ago, Kelda Feegle said:

I was referring to the lady who said she and a friend spent 15 (?) months living in the forests near Vancouver Island where they hunted and killed two bears, and presumably the cougar (?) she is seen patting. That to me doesn't sound like a permit job. Would a permit be issued with restrictions on how bears can be hunted? One they trapped in a snare and stabbed with a spear. Please bear in mind, no pun intended, that I am Australian so I genuinely do not know how these things work in Canada or the USA.

If you are going to live in the remote areas of the country you need to have all the necessary hunting permits. I do think you are allowed to kill animal if you feel that your life is in jeopardy but you better be able to make a solid case to the Rangers/Police if they find out about it.

But most animals have a specific hunting season and will tell you how you can hunt the animal (baiting/no baiting, gun/crossbow), how many you can kill, and how to report your kill. I suspect that the rules for people living off the grid in Alaska are very different then people who are going hunting with a guide in Alaska. And I know that they are not in Alaska but I would imagine similar rules exist in Canada.

[Tanstaafl]

3 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

If you are going to live in the remote areas of the country you need to have all the necessary hunting permits. I do think you are allowed to kill animal if you feel that your life is in jeopardy but you better be able to make a solid case to the Rangers/Police if they find out about it.

Kelda Feegle - ProfCrash is spot on, Wildlife officials will question you as to where/when/why an animal is killed in self defense, out of season, or without tags. The law is usually that you have to report it immediately, and in some cases ensure that the animal (meat) is not wasted.

An exception to the above would be for aboriginals who (generally) have an inherent right for subsistence hunting & fishing in Canada. Tags and seasons may or may not apply depending upon the species and who is managing it. In many cases both a territorial government and a First Nation have agreed to a joint management plan, especially for migratory species such as caribou.

[Quilt Fairy]

I just picked this up from Wiki, which may help those familiar with the area:

Quote

The sixth season was set along the shore of the east arm of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada, about 400 km (250 mi) south of the Arctic Circle and about 120 km (75 mi) south of the arctic tree line.