Answers to your questions: archives for 2002

• What noise does a caribou make?
• Want to help? Here's how . . .
• Fears of a Quebec caribou crisis
• The meaning of "caribou" in aboriginal languages
• Reindeer vs. caribou
• Everything you wanted to know about the BQCMB
• Importing caribou to China
• "Looking for a caribou hunt"
• Caribou school project
• Satellite-collaring maps help plan hunt

What noise does a caribou make?

Nov. 14, 2002

Q. I am an elementary school librarian trying to help a student with a school project. We have been looking for an answer to the following question: What kinds of noises do caribou make? We searched your site and found lots of information about caribou, very helpful, but not about the sounds that they make. Can you help us out with this question?

L. Y.
Columbia, Missouri

A. Although usually silent, caribou do vocalize at certain times. During the rut, bulls frequently pant and bellow, and for several months after calving, mothers and calves grunt back and forth to each other. Click here to listen to the sounds that calves make. Caribou often snort for a variety of reasons, but the most common sound associated with them is the clicking of their feet while walking - a noise produced by a tendon slipping over the sesamoid bone in the foot.

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Want to help? Here's how . . .

June 30, 2002

Q. I am a teacher and also a big fan of the Arctic and the Inuit, due mostly to reading Farley Mowat's books. I assume the Inuit of the Baker Lake/Kazan River/Thelon River area are interested in preserving the caribou and its territory. I would love to join in the preservation effort! Is there anything I can do (way down here in New Jersey) to help? Do you know of any grants or even volunteer opportunities that would allow me to come up there and help out in some capacity? (Research assistant?) While I do not have a science background, I love science and nature and am fairly knowledgeable for a lay person. I have summers off, so obviously I am available then, but I am also potentially interested in doing a teacher exchange. Do you know of any opportunities along these lines?

Thx

M. B.
Ridgewood, New Jersey

A. Thank you very much for your interest, and offer of help. Are you familiar with the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board's current Caribou Monitoring Project? You can read more about it here as well as in our current issue of Caribou News in Brief . The project puts priority on hiring local residents. I think the very best way to help the preservation efforts of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou herds from afar is to make people aware of the herds, the importance of the caribou to residents as sustenance within their subsistence economy, the effects of changing climate and industrial developments on the herd, and so forth. Much like the case of the Porcupine caribou in Yukon/Alaska and the Gwich'in people who live there. The Porcupine Caribou are at the centre of the controversy over potential drilling of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Thanks again for your interest and please feel free to e-mail us with any questions.

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May 21, 2002

Q. I'm curious if you could give me an update about the caribou situation in Quebec. I know that they just held a caribou summit there recently in part to talk about the plummeting caribou herds. I hear that it's likely that we'll soon see a one caribou limit and other hunting restrictions. Also, I've heard about many outfitters possibly going out of business over the next five years because of this crisis. Could you shed some light on this for me?

Thanks.

S. B.
Minnetonka, Minnesota

A. There are two organizations that could give you much more information about barren-ground caribou in Quebec. One of them is the Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Co-ordinating Committee, which organized the 9th North American Caribou Workshop held last year in Kuujuaq, Quebec.

Contact info:
Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Co-ordinating Committee
393, rue St-Jacques
Suite 369
Montreal, Quebec H2Y 1N9
Phone: (514) 284-2151
Fax: (514) 284-0039
E-mail: hftcc@total.net

There's also CaribouQuebec, a non-profit foundation created to support caribou conservation and management in the wake of a disconcerting lack of any surveys or studies done in recent years on the George River Herd in northern Quebec and Labrador. I believe their membership includes outfitters.

CaribouQuebec
5237, boul Hamel
Suite 270
Quebec City, QuŽbec G2E 2H2
Phone: (418) 877-5191 or 1-800-567-9009
Fax: (418) 877-6638
E-mail: lichen@caribouquebec.qc.ca

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The meaning of "caribou" in aboriginal languages

April 11, 2002

Q. Do you know anything about the origins of the names of "caribou" and/or "reindeer" in First Nations languages?

For instance, I know the word caribou is derived from Micmac xalibu, meaning "the animal who digs" – but there is Chipewyan et-then, Cree eh-tik, Dogri ek-wo-wetsi, Inuit tut-tu . . .

Do you know – or can you refer me to some linguist who might know – some examples of what the meaning of these denominations are?

In Norwegian language/same in other Scandinavian languages/ the word rein is derived from old norse word "kroino" or "hraina" meaning "crown or horn," so meaning something like "animal with antlers."

Best regards,

L. V.
Nesbru, Norway

A. You could try contacting Louis-Jacques Dorais at Laval University in Quebec. It's possible there are some Cree linguists there. Louis-Jacques' address is: Louis-Jacques.Dorais@ant.ulaval.ca

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Reindeer vs. caribou

March 12, 2002

Q. Are caribou and reindeer they same animal? Some friends and I were discussing it the other day and we couldn't agree on the answer. Someone stated that a reindeer is just a domesticated caribou. Is this true? Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

A.

A. You'll find the answer here.

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Everything you wanted to know about the BQCMB

March 12, 2002

Q. I have a lot of questions.

1. Are members of the board appointed by the government?
2. How do members become members?
3. I noticed that the position for a Metis South Slave region representative was vacant. Is it still vacant? (the web page was last updated on September 18, 2001 as far as I know)
4. Who has the final say in a decision that the board is making?
5. Does anyone in the board have more power than the others?
6. What are the most recent projects/programs that the agency is engaged in?
7. Are there any major political issues that have arised in your dealings in the board?
8. What do you think the general public thinks of the BQCMB?
9. What sort of rate of success do you think comes from the decisions that are made?
10. Are there any constraints that the board deals with?
11. Do you have anything to add?

T. A.

A. We have a lot of answers.

1. Yes, on the recommendation of communities or aboriginal organizations. The appointing procedure is spelled out in the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Agreement.
2. As above
3. No. We update it twice a year and are just completing the current update.
4. The board makes recommendations to governments. Over the past 20 years, most of the board's recommendations have been accepted.
5. I don't think so. Recommendations/decisions are reached by consensus. The board as whole may recommend satellite collaring but if a single community is opposed the board will support its position. Check out Caribou News in Brief for examples.
6. Caribou monitoring, protection of caribou and caribou habitat. Use the search engine.
7. Everything has political implications.
8. No idea. Probably never heard of us.
9. Not applicable. Board only makes recommendations.
10. Yes. Financial. In constant dollars the board's budget is less than it was in 1982. We got $75k/year then and we get $67.5k/year now.
11. No. Good luck.

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Importing caribou to China

Feb. 20, 2002

Q. China wants to import some caribous to improve local caribou population. So we are looking for some caribou experts who is familar with this kind of business. If you happen know about it, would you please give us some idea about it?

thanks a lot.

Z. C.
Columbus, Ohio

A. You may want to contact Lloyd Binder of Kunnek Resource Development Corporation in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. His firm specializes in reindeer.

Lloyd Binder
Kunnek Resource Development Corporation
P.O. Box 1057 Inuvik NT X0E 0T0
E-mail: lnbinder@permafrost.com

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"Looking for a caribou hunt"

Feb. 15, 2002

Q. am looking for a caribou hunt. Please give a list of outfitters and guides. Also, please give me any other information you have on hunting them.

Thank you

B. B.
Munich, North Dakota

A. For more information about caribou hunts, contact the following tourism organizations:

Nunavut Tourism
Box 1450
Iqaluit, NU X0A 0H0
Phone: 867-979-6551
Toll free 1-866-NUNAVUT (1-866-686-2888)
Fax: 979-1261
E-mail: info@NunavutTourism.com
Web site: www.nunavuttourism.com

Travel Manitoba
7th Floor
155 Carlton St.
Winnipeg, MB R3C 3H8
Phone: 1-800-665-0040 x.AB0
Web site: www.travelmanitoba.com

NWT Arctic Tourism
Box 610, Yellowknife, NT
X1A 2N5
Phone: (867) 873-7200
Fax: (867) 873-4059
E-mail: arctic@nwttravel.nt.ca
Web site: www.nwttravel.nt.ca

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Caribou school project

Jan. 22, 2002

Q. I'm doing a school project on Carabiou and the enviroment. If you can help would be nice. How do adult caribou protect their young? How do they protect themselves? How many different kinds of caribou are there? How do people effect ther habitat? How does climate effect their habitat? Who are thier enemies? Reply by e-mail please.

Thank you.

R. T.
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

A. You'll find a lot of general information about caribou in our Frequently Asked Questions section, including answers to your questions about enemies of caribou, and how people affect caribou habitat through such activities as mineral exploration (a common activity in Canada's north). You should also read our case studies about the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq herds. "The Beverly Caribou Herd: Continental Wilderness Travellers" and "The Qamanirjuaq Caribou Herd: An Arctic Enigma" can be downloaded in PDF format from this page. For information about climate change, take a look at the climate change web sites listed in our Links section. You'll also want to browse through the in-depth information contained in our online CD-ROM, "Protecting Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou and Caribou Range".

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Jan. 1, 2002

Q. Your website was very informative thank you.

We have been on 2 caribou hunts near Raddison Quebec by the Polaris River. We hunt every two yeas and are going again in late Nov. of 2002. Our outfitter (Northern Caribou Adventures) showed us a map each time of radio collared caribou. They went us to the area that showed the most promise. We did very well. My question is, can I access that information for myself before we leave via computer or mail or is it just avalible to outfitters? By getting an up to date map we can plan on driving a snowmobile or taking a helicopter, which is very expensive once we reach the camp. This information would help us plan our hunts financially. If there is a web link or a govt office I could contact for this info it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much

J. O.
Little Valley, New York

A. I believe the caribou herd you're referring to is the George River Herd of northern Quebec. Check out the web site of Caribou Quebec. This site has a link about satellite tracking. It appears that the Quebec government makes a weekly map of caribou locations available to the public, although it's not available on their web site. For more information, contact Caribou Quebec at: Caribou Quebec 5237, Hamel Blvd., Suite 270 Quebec (Quebec) G2E 2H2 Telephone: (418) 877-5191 1-800-567-9009 Fax: (418) 877-6638 E-Mail: lichen@caribouquebec.qc.ca

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