Tracking the caribou by satellite

In March 2006, three governments deployed a total of 40 break-away GPS satellite collars on the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou after the BQCMB raised the necessary funds from government, non-government and private sector sources. The government of the Northwest Territories (NWT) affixed 20 new collars to cows from the Beverly herd while the governments of Manitoba and Nunavut placed 10 new and 10 refurbished collars on Qamanirjuaq cows.

Although a satellite collaring project has been in place for the Qamanirjuaq caribou since 1993, this was the first time that animals from the Beverly herd had worn collars. (Satellite-furnished location data later showed that what were thought to be all Beverly animals were in fact a mix of animals from the Beverly, Ahiak and Qamanirjuaq herds, whose ranges all intersect. The location data tracked the collared animals as they headed to their separate traditional calving grounds. More collars were placed on cows on the Beverly calving ground during the 2007 post-calving season in order to increase the herd's collaring sample.)

Information garnered via satellite helps to broadly monitor the movements of the wide-ranging Beverly and Qamanirjuaq herds. The range of the inland Beverly caribou herd straddles Saskatchewan/NWT, with portions in Nunavut, Manitoba and Alberta. It stretches at least 600 kilometres from west to east, from Great Slave Lake, NWT to east of Dubawnt Lake, Nunavut; and from Slave River in Alberta, across northern Saskatchewan, to near Nueltin Lake, Manitoba. Beverly caribou travel up to 2,000 kilometres each year, traversing hundreds of wild rivers and lakes, as well as the Thelon Wildilfe Sanctuary. The range of the Qamanirjuaq caribou, meanwhile, straddles Manitoba/Nunavut, with portions in southeastern NWT and northeastern Saskatchewan. It runs 500 kilometres from the west coast of Hudson Bay across the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut and northern Manitoba, while stretching north of Baker Lake, Nunavut to south of Brochet, Manitoba in the other direction. The Qamanirjuaq herd treks more than 1,000 kilometres yearly, but its range use and movement patterns are inconsistent and unpredictable.

Location data from satellite collars helps biologists keep tabs on the herd's migration patterns, and provides strong evidence to show where calving grounds are situated. Having this kind of background information is important to the success of an aerial population survey, which these days can cost almost $300,000. Maps showing the travels of caribou with satellite collars are not maps of herd distribution, though. They simply give a rough idea of the year-round movements and distribution of a few caribou from each herd.

How satellite collars work

Satellite collars function thanks to the Argos satellite system, which collects, processes and sends out environmental data from fixed and mobile platforms around the globe. Argos is jointly operated by the French space agency Centre National d'Études Spatiales and the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Today's collars are very lightweight. The Global Positioning System (GPS) collars placed on Qamanirjuaq cows in the spring of 2004, for example, weighed 900 grams each, or less than two pounds – a third less than the older collars, called ST-14 (ST stands for "satellite transmitter"). Today's collars gobble up much less energy because they're turned on and reporting in to satellites only once every eight days for a single hour. Before, collars were on for five to seven hours once every four days. Current GPS collars also reveal locations that are accurate to 10 metres or less – much better than the older collars, whose readings could be half a kilometre away from the actual location. With the new collars, batteries last up to three years and the collars are programmed to drop off on their own.

Biologists shoot a net gun from a helicopter to capture the cow of their choice, pulling the net off and quickly collaring and releasing the animal after landing. No drugs are used in the process. Caribou are blindfolded to relieve stress, and their heart rate monitored to ensure it goes down to normal levels. Noise from helicopters disturbs caribou most in the collaring process. To minimize noise, helicopter engines are either turned off if the weather is warm enough to safely do so without risking the engine freezing, or pilots fly a short distance away.

The GPS collars collect signals daily for eight days in a row from a dozen satellites circling the Earth overhead. Based on these signals, the GPS calculates a precise latitude and longitude for each caribou location, details that are stored in the collar's satellite beacon, another new feature. Once every eight days, for only one hour, information is transferred via satellite signal from the collar to a ground station in the United States that deciphers the data and e-mails the caribou locations for the past eight days to biologists in Arviat.

The effect of collars on caribou

Even the older ST-14 collars, which are bigger, heavier and bulkier than the new generation of GPS collars, have shown no effect on caribou other than a lot of matting of fur around the neck. Biologists have not observed damage such as scarring or removal of tissue. It's expected that the new, lighter GPS collars will prove even less of a hindrance to the animals.

Satellite collaring maps

With the creation of the territory of Nunavut in 1999, the government of Nunavut's Department of Environment assumed management of the Qamanirjuaq caribou satellite collaring project from the NWT government, since the range of the Qamanirjuaq herd no longer falls within NWT's boundaries. Department of Environment staff map the co-ordinates and send updated maps to band offices, hunters and trappers organizations, government departments, and other groups.

While the NWT government initially posted maps online that tracked satellite-collared Beverly animals, it no longer does. This is part of a policy to reduce harvest and help conserve NWT caribou herds, a number of which have suffered population declines. However, information on caribou collars and previously published maps are still available at www.nwtwildlife.com. Current maps of collared Beverly animals are still available to caribou-range communities that wish to have them. For more details, contact South Slave regional biologist Deb Johnson. Note that with the maps, there is a two-week delay on locations.

In 2006, Nunavut's Department of Environment produced a CD that tracks the entire history of satellite collaring on the Qamanirjuaq herd (from 1993-2006), using animated movements colour-coded by seasons and the caribou life cycle. The Lorillard and Wager Bay herds are also included on this CD, and there are plans to update the CD yearly with the movements of other herds, such as the Beverly and Ahiak.

You can also view previous maps tracking satellite-collared Qamanirjuaq cows below. Our thanks to Arviat biologist Mitch Campbell for providing us with these maps.

The movements of six Qamanirjuaq caribou cows during 2004 (348 KB PDF)
All collared caribou, Oct. 2003 - March 2004 (149 KB PDF)
All collared caribou, April - Aug. 2002
Caribou #12354, Aug. - Oct. 2000
Caribou #12356, Aug. - Oct. 2000
Caribou #23640, Aug. - Oct. 2000
Caribou #6980, Aug. - Oct. 2000
Caribou #6979, Aug. - Oct. 2000
All collared caribou, Dec. 1999 - Jan. 2000

For more information about locations and movements of satellite-monitored Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou, scroll down to the maps listed under "B. Maps Based on Satellite-Monitoring Data" on the BQCMB's Map Atlas.

Past stories in Caribou News in Brief and Caribou News have explored the issue of satellite collaring on the ranges of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou herds:

Storms ground long-awaited Beverly survey: Post-calving satellite collaring a success, though (Caribou News in Brief, July 2007)

Surveys the priority with collaring underway (Caribou News in Brief, July 2006)

Collars for both herds, with surveys likely (Caribou News in Brief, December 2005)

Brainstorming brings new approach on surveys (Caribou News in Brief, December 2002)

Satellite collars loudly opposed at community meeting (Caribou News in Brief, August 2001)

Effects of satellite collars "minimal," say biologists (Caribou News, June 1996)

For those interested in neighbouring barren-ground herds in Canada's North, check out regularly updated maps for the Bathurst, Porcupine, George River and Leaf River herds in the Satellite Collaring section of our Links page.