Answers to your questions

We've received many stimulating questions about caribou and caribou management over the years and, as a result, have posted answers to some of those questions here.

Most recent questions and answers are posted below. Past questions are archived chronologically by year and are listed at the bottom of this page. If you're looking for something specific, you might want to try using the search engine.

If you have a question for us, we'd love to hear it! Please send questions via our online form in the Contact us section.

2006

Archives

Counting calories

July 16, 2006

Q. Can you tell me the daily caloric intake needed for a bull barren lands caribou, a doe, a yearling calf and an a nursing doe with calf?

S. K.
Falls Church, Virginia

A. I recommend you contact Don Russell, a former Canadian Wildlife Service caribou biologist based in Whitehorse, Yukon, who has done extensive modelling of the Porcupine barren-ground caribou population. Don's e-mail address is don.russell@ec.gc.ca. If you can't reach Don, you could try contacting Wendy Nixon, wendy.nixon@ec.gc.ca.

GIS file of caribou range map

June 21, 2006

Q. I was hoping you could help me obtain a digital file in AutoCAD or GIS format. I can go to the web site and see a map but it would sure be helpful to actually have a digital boundary that I could put on my maps showing the caribou areas. Is there a way I can obtain such a product? Thank you very much.

J. C.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

A. A GIS version of the caribou range map that you see on our website is available from the Government of the Northwest Territories, through the GNWT Center for Remote Sensing. You will first need to get approval from Susan Fleck (SUSAN_FLECK@gov.nt.ca), Wildlife Director with NWT's Department of Environment and Natural Resources. That should not be a problem. Then contact Dave Taylor (David_E_Taylor@gov.nt.ca) of the Center for Remote Sensing and ask him to send you a CD with all the GIS data.

"Mad cow" in caribou?

June 19, 2006

Q. I have heard a rumor of "mad cow disease" in caribou which may stop importation to the U.S. Is this true?

E.
Kintnersville, Pennsylvania

A. To my knowledge, spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or “mad cow” disease, has not been detected in caribou in Canada. However, you may be thinking of the United States' 2003 ban on the import of all ruminant animals and meat products after a cow in Alberta tested positive for BSE (the U.S. has allowed imports of younger Canadian cattle and beef since the summer of 2005). A ruminant is a hoofed animal with a compartmentalized stomach that chews food regurgitated from the first stomach – like cattle, or caribou.

A different disease, chronic wasting disease, has affected elk recently in parts of Canada.

Midsummer gazing

April 24, 2006

Q. Hello, I am interested in viewing the mid summer caribou migration in NWT and Nunavut? Do you know of any tour groups that offer these services. Thank you.

P. D.
Wolfville, Nova Scotia

A. Check first with the tourism authorities for the territories: Nunavut Tourism (www.nunavuttourism.com) and NWT Tourism (www.explorenwt.com).

If you enjoy canoeing, you may be interested in doing a trip along the Thelon River, running through the Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It's popular with tourists who wish to view Beverly caribou and other wildlife, such as muskoxen. Several outfitters who specialize in such tours include:

Canoe Arctic Inc. (www.canoearctic.com)
Great Canadian Eco Ventures (www.thelon.com/thelon.htm)
Nahanni River Adventures (www.nahanni.com/trips/thelonriver)

If you prefer to stay on land, certain lodges specialize in wildlife viewing. Sila Lodge on Wager Bay, not far from Baker Lake, Nunavut, is open from early July to late August. Phone: (204) 949-2050 or e-mail info@frontiersnorth.com. Great Canadian Ecoventures (www.thelon.com) runs photography trips into the Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary, a beautiful wilderness area that straddles the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Seen and herd

April 19, 2006

Q. Hello! On April 3rd 2006 I passed a herd of Caribou in the Nunalla area during the Hudson Bay Quest Sled Dog Race. I would like to know which of the two herds I saw and approximately how many. I would be very thankful if you could provide me with information or give me the contact adress of someone who will know. Thank you very much.

M. K.
Air Ronge, Saskatchewan

A. You most likely saw caribou from the Qamanirjuaq herd, as their range extends from northern Manitoba into the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut. It's impossible to say how many you saw, though. Satellite collars on a handful of caribou cows only give a general sense of the broad movements of the herd, not herd size. But anecdotal reports from communities on the range of the Qamanirjuaq herd indicate there were abundant numbers this past year – more than some people had ever seen before of this herd.

Caribou viewing tours

Jan. 20, 2006

Q. Are there any tours to watch the caribou migration in the Yukon Territory? Thank you for your assistance.

S. L.
Kamloops, British Columbia

A. Your best best would be to contact Tourism Yukon (www.touryukon.com) to see if they could recommend lodges or outfitters that specialize in ecotourism, with such services as wildlife viewing tours, photography tours, etc.

Who's the competition?

Jan. 15, 2006

Q. My daughter is currently studying woodland caribou in her science class. She has found a lot of useful information on your website. Do you know if there are species that compete with caribou? Have any new species been introduced in the areas where caribou live that compete with them for food? land? water? Thanks.

J. N.
Olney, Maryland

A. Thanks for your message. The two caribou herds that the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board helps to safeguard are barren-ground caribou rather than woodland caribou, so factors for them in terms of competing species are different. For our two herds, the main competitors for food, land or water are other herds of caribou, such as the Bathurst, Qamanirjuaq or Ahiak herds moving onto Beverly range to find additional feeding grounds. Forest fires deplete the amount of foraging land available so that makes competition more fierce, too. For specific questions about woodland caribou, you may wish to contact Manitoba biologist Vince Crichton at vcrichton@gov.mb.ca or doc.moose@shaw.ca.

A family affair

Jan. 9, 2006

Q. What are the families of reindeer?

D.
Farmington, New Hampshire

A. Reindeer (called caribou in North America) are a member of the deer family, or Cervidae. Barren-ground caribou are found largely in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic while woodland caribou are found in forested areas. In Canada, there are also four other species of deer: moose, elk, white-tailed deer, and mule deer. For more information, you could check out Hinterland Who's Who (Canadian Wildlife Service) or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.