Hunters say there were plenty of polar bear tracks around the giant mammal.

When Lenny Panigayak and his family were out seal hunting near Taloyoak, Nunavut, they came across a rare sight, even for experienced hunters.

 It was a full-size, beached, frozen bowhead whale. 

“That was a very, very amazing sight. It’s my first time to see a bowhead,” said Panigayak. 

When they got close to it, Panigayak said he saw a polar bear in the distance. He thinks there may have been three.

The bear he had the clearest view of was about 12 feet tall, he guesses.

He expects that when the ice becomes more stable, there will be more people going to look at the frozen bowhead whale.

“It’s hard to describe the feeling,” he said. “That was the first that I’ve seen any whales that died of natural causes. And it’s very amazing. It’s a very exciting feeling.”