Maasai - the traditional lion hunters are becoming lion guardians, nowadays, when number of lions drop to fewer than 30 thousand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au5yE0Z2HUo
The number of polar bears is actually roughly the same number. That is not the single resemblance. Not so long ago Maasai used earned their money organizing shooting to lions by white hunters. The Inuits used to do the same with their quotas for polar bears: "For communities with enforced hunting quotas, selling tags to sport hunters can be an important source of income, with hunting packages fetching up to $20,000. Sport hunters must employ an Inuit guide and a dogsled (...)" https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/truth-about-polar-bears
Even for 4 hundred quota it makes roughly $8 million a year. It is worth to consider the incomes from turisms, however: "If a friend has ever shown you a snapshot of a polar bear, the odds are good that the photo was taken in Churchill. While Churchill is legendarily the Polar Bear Capital of the World, it is also the Polar Bear Tourism Capital of the World. There are 19 polar bear populations on the planet — 13 of them in Canada — and none is as accessible as in Churchill, which draws an estimated 10,000 visitors every year. If you’d like to scratch your itch for bear sighting in Baffin Bay or Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., you’ll probably need float planes, ski-touring gear and a solid knowledge of igloo architecture. But in Churchill, all it takes is a whole lot of disposable income. With hotels, ranger stations and perky multilingual guides, the town is entirely geared toward the modern ecotourist. For the modest sum of $11,349 (per person), you can have the “Ultimate Polar Bear Experience”: 10 days in the Tundra Buggy Lodge, essentially an oversized RV parked at the water’s edge."
10,000x11,349 makes roughly $110 million a year in a single Churchill, only. 14-times more! Now it seems that they may have both incomes. But... it may easily occur that, as there still decrease part of young bears in the population... very soon there will be not a single polar bear.
So, may the Inuits be respectfully reconsidered as the modern warriors of the North?
It is a very positive initiative what supports the survival of the endangered species.
Polar bear and lions are not endangered by hunting but the change of habitat. So having great guardians alone won't ensure the survival of these species. I hope the warriors will be good advocate to solve the issue and raise the awareness.
It would be even nicer, if the current exploiters of the oceans would become warriors and could save the fish. Polar bears could benefit as well.
It occurs they are the warriors, already (and for many years):
Sila Alangotok: Inuit Observations on Climate Change
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yee9rKOlMUo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3B1VQY9zN8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOZ5LLA-SKg https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/inuit_final_report.pdf
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