Dolphin and Union
- NWT status: Special Concern under the NWT Species at Risk Act (2015).
- Canadian status: Special Concern under the federal Species at Risk Act (2004). Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) re-assessed the status of Dolphin and Union caribou as Endangered (2017) (formerly assessed as Special Concern, 2004).
- Herd size (2020, based on 2018 survey): 4,105. This is a decrease of 62% a year from the 2015 survey that put the population at 18,000. The poulation has been trending downward since the 2007 survey.
Genetic studies have shown the herd to be distinct from both Peary caribou, and from barren-ground caribou. The animals in this herd are slightly larger and darker than the Peary caribou.
The herd migrates between Victoria Island and the adjacent Arctic mainland twice a year, going to the mainland in the fall and back to the island in the spring. The crossing distance varies, depending on the routes taken, but is typically between 40 and 50 kilometres. Some members of the herd are sometimes also found on smaller islands near Victoria Island.
The management plan for the herd says the largest risk to its future is the sea ice that the caribou use to migrate. That sea ice is changing as the region warms. New ice is forming more than ten days later in the fall than it did in the early 1980s. Icebreaking is also a concern, as vessel traffic in the region increases. Local Inuit say they’re seeing an increase in the numbers of drowned caribou from the herd, sometimes numbering in the hundreds. Some communities say that shipping in the strait crossed by the caribou should be restricted to the open water season.
Competition with muskoxen is identified by local people as a potential source of decline for this herd. They also mention the habitat destruction caused by an overabundance of geese in the area may be affecting the food available for caribou. Local people have also reported seeing more diseased caribou. Some new parasites have sprung up on the caribou’s range, such as caribou lungworm, a parasite not reported on Victoria Island until 2010.
Several communities hunt the caribou from this herd, but harvest levels are uncertain, so the level of risk from harvesting is also uncertain. However, the latest survey report on the caribou by the Government of Nunavut said, "Harvest appeared to be a significant source of mortality for DU caribou from 2015 to 2019, with 14 of 43 mortalities of collared caribou having occurred due to harvesting." In September 2020, the Government of Nunavut set a "total allowable harvest" level for local communities at 42 animals.
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Related resources
Population Estimate of the Dolphin and Union Caribou herd (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus x pearyi) Coastal Survey, October 2018 and Demographic Indicators
Inuktitut summary report on contaminants in the Dolphin and Union caribou herd
2019 report to the hunters of the Dolphin and Union herd
Fall Population Estimate of the Dolphin and Union Caribou herd (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus x pearyi) Victoria Island, October 2015 And Demographic Population Indicators 2015-2017
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: pdf
Dolphin and UnionManagement Plan for Dolphin and Union Caribou in the NWT and Nunavut
Management Plan for the Dolphin and Union Caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus x pearyi) in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: pdf
Dolphin and UnionCOSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) Dolphin and Union population in Canada 2017
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: web
Dolphin and Union