It's a much deeper, more symbiotic ritual. Steffanson relates that the Eskimos believe that there are certain things the animals need (and the animals are wiser than man) that they can ONLY get from a human. Seals and whales live in the ocean so are constantly thirsty for fresh water - so the eskimo pours a cup of fresh water in the seals mouth when he kills him. So yes, the seal preferred that person to kill him, but the main reason was that he knew that man would serve his needs (fresh water) after he was killed. Polar bears cannot themselves make the tools they need in the afterlife so they allow themselves to be killed by the eskimo who will then hang the hides in their houses (and treat them with honour) along with scrapers, bow-drills and knives. The polar bear's soul accompanies the hide, and after a few days the soul is able to take with it the souls of the tools he needs into the realm of the polar bears. If the tools are good and serve the polar bear's needs, he will let the other (living) polar bears souls know that they should prefer to be killed by that specific eskimo because he will make sure to give him what he needs for his afterlife journey.
This is VERY conservation-minded message. You respect, treat well, and do not abuse your resource (bears/seals, etc) else they will pay you back by telling other of their kind to NOT let you kill their kin and you will starve and die. The tie-in to proper wildlife management and wise use is right there - but it was missed. The seals and bears don't just say, "Hey, Joe is a nice guy - let him kill you." They say, "Joe cares about us seals and polar bears, gives us what we cannot provide for ourselves (you can translate this into a topic of habitat pretty easily), and therefore, continue to support Joe and his kind's way of thinking and acting by giving him the good fortune to kill you so he can also get what he needs (meat/hides). If you want to get religious about it, it is The Golden Rule.
