page_title: Baffin Island
section_title: Predators
hierarchical_section_title: Baffin Island / Wildlife / Predators
caption_attribution_description: English: An ice-covered fjord on Baffin Island, with Davis Strait in the background, Canada
context_page_description: Baffin Island, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is 507,451 km² and its population was 13,148 as of the 2016 Canadian Census. It is located in the region of 70° N and 75° W.
  It was named by English colonists after English explorer William Baffin. Historians believe it is likely that Pre-Columbian Norse explorers from Greenland and Iceland knew of the island. They believe it is the site of Helluland, referred to in the Icelandic sagas.
context_section_description: Polar bears can be found all along the coast of Baffin Island but are most prevalent where the sea ice takes the form of pack ice, where their major food sources—ringed seals (jar seal) and bearded seals—live. Polar bears mate approximately every year, bearing one to three cubs around March. Female polar bears may travel 10–20 km (6–12 mi) inland to find a large snow bank where they dig a den in which to spend the winter and later give birth. The polar bear population here is one of 19 genetically distinct demes of the circumpolar region.
  Arctic foxes can usually be found where polar bears venture on the fast ice close to land in their search for seals. Arctic foxes are scavengers and often follow polar bears to get their leavings. On Baffin Island, Arctic foxes are sometimes trapped by Inuit, but there is no longer a robust fur industry.
  The Arctic wolf and the Baffin Island wolf, a grey wolf subspecies, are also year-round residents of Baffin Island. Unlike the grey wolf in southern climes, Arctic wolves often do not hunt in packs, although a male-female pair may hunt together.
caption: An ice-covered fjord on Baffin Island, with Davis Strait in the background
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