Answers to your questions: archives for 2006

• Pinning down caribou for a magazine article
• Counting calories
• GIS file of caribou range map
• "Mad cow" in caribou?
• Midsummer gazing
• Seen and herd
• Caribou viewing tours
• Who's the competition?
• A family affair

Pinning down caribou for a magazine article

November 21, 2006

Q. Hi there, I'm working on a magazine article and I'm wondering if you can provide me with more information about how you estimate the numbers in the caribou herds and information on whether or not there has been much fluctuation in the last number of years, specifically the last two years.

Also, I'm wondering if you would be able to tell me since the herd moves from place to place, how often the caribou might visit a particular location. By this I mean, how often would people living in a particular place see the caribou over a number of months or years?

C. C.
Toronto, Ontario

A. The Beverly and Qamanirjuaq herds were last surveyed in 1994 so they are long overdue to be surveyed again. If you check our newsletter Caribou News in Brief, you'll see most of our recent issues talk about the need for surveys and provide more background information.

The Beverly and Qamanirjuaq herds have been surveyed using calving ground photo surveys, which take place in mid-June when the herds have returned to the calving grounds. The March 1994 issue of Caribou News (the predecessor to Caribou News in Brief) featured a detailed story explaining the surveying process the last time the herds were surveyed.

Migration routes vary. You mentioned you're particularly interested in their routes over the past two years -- take a look at our recent annual reports, because these contain sections on the migrations of the caribou over the preceding year.

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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.

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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.

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"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.

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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).

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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