SLP99010403 - 05 JANUARY 1999 - ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, USA: These two polar bears don't seem to mind the single digit temperatures in the bear pits at the St. Louis Zoo, as they frolic in the snow, January 5. Forcasters are predicting temperatures will begin to climb to the freezing point later in the week. The area was hit hard with freezing rains and nearly seven inches of snow last weekend. bg/ Bill Greenblatt UPI | License Photo

SLP99072601 - 26 JULY 1999 - ST. LOUIS MISSOURI, USA: Two polar bears find some relief from the 102 degree heat in a pool of water at the St. Louis Zoo, July 26. The temperature has not been this high since 1991. The heat index for the day was 110 degrees. jr/bg/Bill Greenblatt UPI | License Photo

SLP2000122704- 27 DECEMBER 2000- ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, USA: Polar bears lay around in the ice and snow at the St. Louis Zoo as temperatures jump to 29 degrees for the high, December 27, 2000. Forcasters say that below normal temperatures will continue for the rest of the week. bc/bg/Bill Greenblatt UPI | License Photo

Two polar bears at the San Diego Zoo wrestle and play as they get to know one another in San Diego on June 29, 2007. Kalluk (left), a sub-adult male is being slowly introduced to adult female Chinook (right). Zoo keepers are hopeful that the pair will develop a positive relationship and may become potential breeding partners in the future. Polar bears are a threatened species. (UPI Photo/Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo)... . | License Photo

A 7-year-old polar bear named Kalluk plays with a burlap doll painted with non-toxic paint by zookeepers at the San Diego Zoo on May 8, 2008. The paint left the blue-green shade seen on the bear's fur. (UPI Photo/Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo) | License Photo

IQALUIT, Nunavut, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The northeastern Canadian territory of Nunavut has ignored conservationists' pleas and will permit a cull of 105 polar bears, officials said.

The Globe and Mail quoted territorial Ministry of Environment officials in Iqaluit as saying the quota first set in 2004 would be unchanged.


Earlier this year, the United States declared polar bears a threatened species and banned the import of the animal's body parts by big-game hunters, a move the WWF-Canada conservation group applauded.

However, Peter Ewins, the group's director of species conservation said he can't understand the decision to allow more hunting by indigenous Inuit people and recreational hunters.

"You can't pretend to be looking after polar bears by carrying on with the same level of harvest. It is just totally unacceptable," Ewins said. "They've made a huge mistake that caused a 30 percent population decline."

Various estimates show the number of polar bears has dropped from an estimated 2,100 in 1997 to about 1,500 now, the newspaper said.