Tuk Peninsula

Herd size (2021) 3,073

The entire range of this herd is restricted to the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula on the Arctic coast. The area had once been used for herding reindeer, and it has been suggested that this herd moved back into the area when the reindeer were moved off in 2001. Some of the herd may be feral reindeer, or of mixed reindeer/caribou ancestry.

In 2006, it numbered an estimated 3,000 animals. The 2018 estimate showed the herd declining to 1,500, but in 2021 it bounced back to 3,073. There is no specific management plan for this herd, and there are no restrictions on the Inuvialuit harvest of the herd. There is no hunting in the area from April 1 to June 15 to allow the Cape Bathurst caribou to migrate.

QIA says Nunavut land-use plan doesn’t go far enough to protect caribou

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association (the organization that holds land rights for Inuit in the Baffin region of Nunavut) is urging more prtoections for caribou in the Nunavut Land Use Plan. The land use plan is in its final hearing stage. The plan has been under development for several years and will influence the future of development in the territory.

18 November 2022 | Nunatsiaq news

Barren-Ground Caribou Population Surveys Indicate Positive Signs for Some Herds, and Ongoing Concerns for the Bathurst Herd

Caribou herd counts were released for five herds surveyed in 2021. All five herds were last surveyed in 2018. Three herds (Tukotyaktuk Peninsula, Cape Bathurst, Bluenose East) show slight increases, the other two (Bathust and Bluenose West) show further declines.

21 December 2021 | Government of the NWT

Barren-ground Bathurst Bluenose West Bluenose East Cape Bathurst Tuk Peninsula

Strategy to help NWT’s beleaguered caribou is released

A news story about a new recovery strategy for barren-ground caribou herds in the NWT. The strategy was developed by group of governments and regulatory boards, collectively known as the Conference of Management Authorities. The recovery strategy will guide how all NWT herds of barren-ground caribou are managed, with the exception of the Porcupine herd.

10 July 2020 | cabin radio

Beverly and Qaminirjuaq Barren-ground Baffin Island Bathurst Bluenose West Bluenose East Cape Bathurst Tuk Peninsula Managing hunting Managing predators Range management

Related resources

RECOVERY STRATEGY FOR BARREN-GROUND CARIBOU In the Northwest Territories

This 70-page recovery strategy for barren-gound caribou in the Northwest Territories lays out plans to help the eight herds covered by the strategy. The strategy was required by the NWT Species at Risk Act after the barren-ground caribou were listed as "threatened" in 2018. The governments and co-management boards that developed the strategy have until April 9, 2021 to agree on the implementation of the recovery strategy.

Conference of Management Authorities (2020)

Usage: Non-commercial with attribution
Format: web

Beverly and Qaminirjuaq Barren-ground Ahiak Bathurst Bluenose West Bluenose East Cape Bathurst Tuk Peninsula Managing hunting Managing predators Range management Management

FINAL REPORT of the Panel for the Substituted Environmental Impact Review of the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk, Town of Inuvik and GNWT - Proposal to Construct the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway

A long 2013 environmental impact assessment report on the construction of the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway. The consideration of impacts on caribou, and board recommendations on dealing with these impacts begins on page 93.

Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (2013)

Format: pdf

Tuk Peninsula Range management Human disturbance