Baffin Island
HERD SIZE (2014): 4,652
This herd is limited to Baffin Island, in Nunavut, and the adjacent Prince Charles Island. A management plan for the herd produced in 2018 by the Nunavut Government estimated the herd size had fallen by 95% from a 1991 high. Although it treated an one herd, evidence from both Inuit qaujimajatuqangit (the system of values, beliefs and knowledge gained through living and hunting on the land over many generations) and scientific observations suggest there may be 3-5 distinct herds on the island. The management plan noted that the numbers in the north of Baffin Island were particularly low, leaving the caribou vulnerable to local extirpation. Like other barren ground caribou herds the herd numbers go through natural cycles over several decades. In response to the current low numbers, the government has set a total allowable harvest of 250 animals per year.
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Related resources
Closure of Baffin Island Caribou harvest
caribou contaminant report 2020-21
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: pdf
PorcupineBeverly and QaminirjuaqBarren-groundBaffin IslandContaminantsRenal trace elements in barren-ground caribou subpopulations: Temporal trends and differing effects of sex, age and season
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: pdf
PorcupineBeverly and QaminirjuaqBarren-groundBaffin IslandBathurstBluenose WestBluenose EastCape BathurstPeopleClimate changeContaminantsPopulation structure of caribou in an ice-bound archipelago
Local knowledge to enhance wildlife population health surveillance: Conserving muskoxen and caribou in the Canadian Arctic
Format: web
Baffin IslandWorking together for Baffin Island Caribou
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: pdf
Barren-groundBaffin IslandManaging huntingManaging predatorsRange managementPeopleClimate changeHuman disturbanceNatural factorsHunting