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Adapted from: Government of NWT (2018)
Caribou have long been vital to the survival of Indigenous peoples in the north; the First Nations, Inuit, and Metis.
Read moreThreats
Reasons for the drop in caribou populations are complicated. There is still some disagreement among scientific and Indigenous experts as to which factors are most important.
Management
It is often said that forms of wildlife management are mostly not about managing the animals, but about managing people. Some Indigenous peoples find it disrespectful to even talk about managing caribou. In that spirit, this section is largely about managing human interventions that affect caribou.
News and resources
Recently added resources
Critical summer foraging tradeoffs in a subarctic ungulate
This 38-page academic paper looks at the summer diet of the Fortymile caribou herd that ranges between Yukon and Alaska. It uses video from collars on the nimals to analyze what they're eating, and other behaviours such as avoiding insects. The video confirmed a sharp decline in eating when insects such as mosquitoes were more present, and also confirmed that lichen is an important component of the herd's diet, even in summer.
ecology and evolution (Wiley) (2021)
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: web
Barren-groundFortymileRange managementClimate changeMUSKOX AND CARIBOU HEALTH MONITORING PROGRAM - activity update June 2021
This 12-page document gives brief summaries about work on muskox and caribou in the central Arctic region of Canada (communities of Ulukhaktok, Kugluktuk and Cambridge Bay). The research centres on the health of the two species, and includes projects to gather Indigenous knowledge on the Dolphin and Union herd, and disease prevalence in the Bluenose East herd. The research is not yet complete so few conclusions are drawn.
(2021)
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: web
Barren-groundBluenose EastDolphin and UnionNatural factors