served that some predators attack their prey from ambush, whereas others usually hunt while on the move. Pianka (1966) termed these modes of foraging respectively "sit-and-wait" and "widely-foraging." In the sit-and-wait foraging mode, a forager remains stationary for long periods of time, waiting for a prey item to come within short pursuit or striking distance. In the widely-foraging mode, a forager spends much of its time actively searching for prey (Huey and Pianka 1981). Although this dichotomy can be somewhat artificial, numerous animal and human groups (see Binford 1980) seem to fall into one or the other category.
The primary data presented here were collected from 1996 through 1998, utilizing a participant-observation methodology supplemented by directed interviews. In total, almost 11 months were spent accompanying and observing Mittimatalingmiut narwhal activities in the floe-edge and open water environments. The floe-edge hunting component of the research comprised 14 trips. The accompanied hunters were varied with respect to age and individual experience in narwhal hunting (Table 2).
This participatory approach was ideal for recording hunter movements, stops and campsites, while also allowing the observation of contiguous or passing narwhal hunters. Additionally, all search, pursuit, and handling activities were timed and amounts of fuel, ammunition and other expendables used were all recorded. Finally, travel routes, encountered hazards, camping/resting sites, and narwhal sightings/firing events were recorded.
Floe-edge mode of foraging
Active foraging mode
At 11:30, we reach the floe-edge almost directly across from Sannirut […] D. is scanning the area as we continue to travel south.Lee, Field Notes, 14/06/96
During the course of the research, an active or widely foraging mode was characterized as a relatively continuous movement where hunters travelled parallel to the floe-edge in one direction while simultaneously scanning the open water for narwhal. Movements between camps were also considered as part of the active foraging mode because hunters continued to search for narwhal while traveling. Arguably, inter-camp movements could be considered simply as travel time; however, the scanning for prey supported inclusion as active foraging search.
Active foraging by snowmobile began as soon as hunters arrived at the floe-edge (Table 3). Upon arrival at the floe-edge, initial scans for narwhals were made and a travel direction was then chosen. This phase was particularly important because critical environmental information for travel safety and campsite selection was collected and given a priority greater than, or at least equal to, the search for narwhal. For example, the structural stability of the ice edge, sea conditions, weather patterns and the movements of drifting ice were all collected and synthesized. Equally important to the physical characteristics, this phase also provided the hunters with the number and distribution of the status of campsites located within the regional vicinity.
Snowmobile foraging was frequently punctuated by scan-stops. Scan-stops were brief pauses that generally lasted from 10 to 30 minutes and almost always occurred if a narwhal was sighted in order to evaluate the narwhal’s position and/or to hunt the narwhal with sit-and-wait foraging tactics. Such tactics should not be confused with the sit-and-wait foraging mode. Sit-and-wait foraging tactics refer to manoeuvring and positioning to hunt narwhal over a short term. These tactics were always employed because narwhal would readily dive and be very challenging or impossible to track actively in the pack ice environment. Scan-stops were also executed to evaluate the stability of an ice platform with an ice probe before travelling upon it.
Hunters who carried out extensive active searching by snowmobile incurred two kinds of costs. The first was monetary as a snow machine consumed about CDN $25.00 in gasoline and oil for roughly every three to four hours of operation (average price as calculated at the time of study, 1996-1998)