Barren-ground

Barren-ground caribou are larger in size than the Dolphin and Union and Peary caribou. The average bull (male caribou) weighs in at 100 to 140 kg (220 to 309 lb). Females weigh less. In summer they eat grassy plants, shrubs and mushrooms, and in winter they mostly eat lichens. 

These caribou are mostly migratory, often forming large herds that can number in the hundreds of thousands. They migrate twice a year, moving to calving grounds on the treeless tundra near the coast in springtime, and back towards the treeline in the fall. The top two herds (the Bathurst and Porcupine herds) travel about 1,350 kilometers (as the crow flies) between their summer and winter ranges. When migrating, they walk at about 7 km/hr, covering between 20 and 65 km a day. Smaller herds that are less migratory also exist. Some of these are found on islands such as Southampton Island and Coats Island, two large islands in the northern part of Hudson Bay.

The largest herd in Canada currently is likely the Qamanirjuaq herd that ranges between Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, northern Manitoba and Saskakatchewan. It was estimated to number 288,000 animals in 2017. Overall, the numbers of barren ground caribou are declining. The Bathurst herd that currently ranges between the NWT and Nunavut may have fallen the furthest from a high of 472,000 in 1986, to an estimated 8,200 in 2018 

Government of the Northwest Territories

That’s a decrease of more than 98%. Two populations appear to be bucking the trend of general decline. The Porcupine caribou herd was at a record high of 218,000 in 2017.

The causes of the declines are discussed in more depth in the “threats” section and may be different for different herds, but there is a significant opinion that development of mining and infrastructure (particularly roads) within the range of some of the herds facing the steepest declines is a contributing factor. Hunting pressure and predation are other significant factors identified. As the NWT Species at Risk assessment for Barren-ground caribou notes, “Most barren-ground caribou herds are now at low points in their abundance and they are facing cumulative effects from multiple interacting threats that are unprecedented.”

The steep decline of some of these herds has led to a moratorium on hunting some of the declining herds. For instance, in 2015 the NWT government created a Mobile Core Bathurst Caribou Conservation Area in which no caribou hunting is allowed. The moratorium on hunting has caused hardships to local people who are heavily dependent on the caribou for food, and are forced to buy often expensive (and relatively unsatisfying) food from local stores instead. In addition to the costs of the replacement food, the lack of caribou in the diets of Indigenous people can also lead to spiritual and cultural impacts.