NWT Peary Caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) /
NWT Dolphin-Union Caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus x pearyi)
Peary Caribou Dolphin-Union Caribou
Species at Risk (NWT) Act list: No status Species at Risk (NWT) Act list: No status
Federal Species at Risk Act list: No status Federal Species at Risk Act list: No status
COSEWIC Assessment: Endangered COSEWIC Assessment: Special Concern
NWT General Status Rank: At Risk NWT General Status Rank: Sensitive
Description
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Peary caribou are smaller than barren-ground caribou. They have shorter faces and legs and are lighter in colour. In winter, Peary caribou have a mostly white coat. Their summer coat is slate-gray with white legs and underparts. Both males and females have antlers. Antlers on adult males are larger than those on females and juvenile males. The velvet covering the antlers is gray, unlike the dark brown velvet of barren-ground caribou.
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Distribution
Peary Caribou
Peary caribou are only found on the islands of Canada’s far North. The Dolphin Union population on Victoria Island, shared with Nunavut, was considered Peary caribou in the past. However, recent genetic studies have demonstrated that this population is distinct from both barren-ground caribou (R.t. groenlandicus) and Peary caribou.
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NOTE: Distributions are approximate and not intended for legal use.
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Dolphin-Union Caribou
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NOTE: Distributions are approximate and not intended for legal use.
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Habitat
The Arctic Archipelago provides a harsh, treeless environment. Ice fields and bare rock reduce the area where forage is available for caribou. In summer, Peary caribou forage in moist areas such as river valley slopes and upland plains. These areas provide sedges, willows, grasses, and herbs. In winter, the caribou forage in more exposed areas such as hilltops and raised beach ridges where the thinner snow layer makes foraging easier.
Population Size and Trends
Historical information on Peary caribou populations is lacking. Population studies have been conducted during the past 30-40 years but they have been limited to certain parts of the range and there have often been long periods of time between surveys. Caribou numbers have increased and decreased on different islands since the first surveys in the early 1960s. However, the overall population of Peary and arctic-island caribou has declined across the NWT since the 1960s.
On Banks Island, the most extensively surveyed area, caribou numbers dropped from about 12,000 in 1972 to 1018 in 1992, then appeared low but stable with 1196 caribou in 2002.
Caribou on Northwest Victoria Island (Minto Inlet population) declined from about 4500 in 1980 to about 100 in 1993, but by 1998 may have increased to about 500.
Caribou on Western Queen Elizabeth Islands (Melville, Prince Patrick, Bathurst and other islands) have been surveyed sporadically since 1961. The last survey in 1997 estimated the lowest numbers (1080) recorded for these Islands since 1961 (19 400). This represents a 94% decline over 36 years. Evidence points to harsh winter as the cause of this decline. Caribou have died during consecutive unusually severe winters and springs in the late 1990s and probably earlier as well.
Biology
Females are capable of calving annually, however this depends upon whether or not they can build up adequate fat reserves over the summer to breed in mid-October. Most calves are born in the last two weeks of June. During summer, willow is an important food for Peary caribou. They also feed on various forbs, herbs, sedges and grasses. During winter, forbs, especially legumes and avens, are important foods. Unlike other caribou, Peary caribou eat very little lichen because very little lichen is available to them. Peary caribou are found in small groups throughout the year and graze while on the move. These are adaptations to the sparse vegetation cover and patchy distribution of high quality food plants that caribou selectively feed on.
Limiting Factors
Peary and arctic-island caribou live in a very harsh environment. In some winters, ice layers prevent caribou from reaching their food. If ice covers a large enough area of the winter range, animals may starve. Harsh winters and/or summers may prevent females from having adequate fat reserves for reproduction. Wolves prey upon caribou, but the impact of wolf predation is unknown. There is little information on wolf numbers, however the number of wolves may be increasing on both Banks and Victoria Islands. Competition between muskoxen and caribou for food may affect population size. In some areas, caribou are harvested for food. Harvesting, in combination with other factors, may have contributed to the decline of caribou population on Banks and Northwest Victoria Islands. Industrial development, especially in calving grounds, could also affect caribou populations.
Protection
In 2004, COSEWIC designated the Peary caribou in Canada as Endangered because their populations continued to decline to critically low levels. The Dolphin-Union caribou population (Victoria Island- mainland) was designated as Special Concern because of possible pressure from hunting, development, and climate change. The Inuvialuit have taken a strong leadership role in protecting Peary Caribou. Due to community concerns in Sachs Harbour, a harvest quota on hunting Peary Caribou was implemented in 1990 and is now annually reviewed. In 1993, the Ulukhaktok Hunters and Trappers Committee initiated a zero harvest on Peary Caribou from Northwest Victoria Island to help ensure that only Dolphin-Union Caribou were harvested from southwest Victoria Island.
Recovery
Extended consultations are under way by the federal government to legally list Peary caribou as Endangered under the Species at Risk Act. A draft National Recovery Plan was developed and is under review. Actions under the recovery plan include monitoring population size and trends, determining causes of decline, implementing steps to increase population sizes and developing public information and education programs. Annual surveys to assess calf production and overwinter survival of caribou will continue to be a priority.