"The South Baffin caribou population is recognized as a “keystone species” in the lives of Inuit on southern Baffin Island, having developed centuries-old traditions and knowledge related to the long-term and short-term changes in the population."

Principles/Draft Discussion Report August 2003

Research

All data from 1987 to 1995 have been analyzed and most of them published in scientific papers and through presentations. Additional scientific papers will be prepared on satellite telemetry results in 2005. This long-term scientific study where IQ was used to frame the research questions, hypotheses and objectives has now entered its planning phase for the production of the first South Baffin caribou management plan.

Meeting

The second meeting of the South Baffin Caribou Working Group was held in July 2000. Due to political issues, no consultation occurred after July 2001 until October 2003. A workshop to present the first public draft of the Discussion Paper and address some of the objectives is planned for March 2004.

Management Plan

The current objectives for 2004-05 are:

1. To complete a Management and research Discussions Paper.
2. To identify the issues to address in the conservation of this population during consultations with community representatives and elders.
3. To develop short-term and long-term management and research goals through consultation.
4. To develop a final management and research plan by December 31, 2004.

Inuit provided important feedback on verification of the IQ and other study results. IQ is the foundation upon which management plans and decisions will be made, and both Inuit hunters and elders will have a clear active role in developing future conservation actions. The process has been and will remain open for the development and appropriate application of new methods based on science, IQ and other sources.

History of scientific research and publications

From the late 1940s to the 1970s, attempts to survey caribou populations on Baffin Island provided unreliable estimates for a variety of reasons. Soon, biologists realized that surveying adequately the entire island was impossible. Eventhough successful, the 1984 aerial survey to count breeding South Baffin caribou did not cover all expected area and had to be interrupted due to bad weather. Suggestions from Inuit knowledge that caribou distribution expanded and contracted on Baffin in the past and predictions in the mid-1980s by Inuit elders that caribou would soon stop wintering on Foxe Peninsula sent clear indications that more research on boundaries and movements patterns of Baffin Island caribou were needed.

In 1974, the Department of Renewable Resources initiated a tagging project in the South Baffin caribou range. Over 6,000 migratory caribou, mostly cows, calves and yearlings were tagged between 1974-1986 as they swam across the Koukdjuak River and between islands in eastern Nettilling Lake. Although this study based on tag returns by hunters revealed the existence of a southern and a northern Baffin Island caribou populations, it did not give information on animals in non-hunting or other areas where they were never tagged. In addition, tag returns could not provided good descriptions on distribution and seasonal movements of South Baffin caribou. It was decided that tagging and aerial surveys would be replaced by a telemetry study.

Between 1987-1994, seventy adult female caribou were fitted with radio-collars in the range of the South Baffin caribou population. Each animal was monitored via satellite every 4 days for about two years. Analysis of caribou locations downloaded from the Argos system marked the population boundaries, indicated seasonal ranges and the year-to-year consistency of movements, as well as allowed for better design of aerial surveys.

Most study efforts on Baffin Island caribou have been directed at the South Baffin population because it is utilized by about 70% of Baffin’s human population. Those years of scientific research (1983-1994) allowed the development of a method to collect and analyze Inuit knowledge about a caribou population, demonstrated how traditional Inuit knowledge could be used to describe caribou populations changes and confirmed what the Inuit had described. Detailed information on these different studies can be found in the following scientific papers:

• Ferguson, M.A.D. and Messier, F. 1997. Collection and Analysis of Traditional Ecological Knowledge about a Population of Arctic Tundra Caribou. Arctic, Vol. 50, No 1, P. 17-28.
• Ferguson, M.A.D., Williamson, R.G. and Messier, F. 1998. Inuit Knowledge of Long-Term Changes in a Population of Arctic Tundra Caribou. Arctic, Vol. 51, No. 3, P. 201-219.
• Ferguson, M.A.D. and Messier, F. 2000. Mass Emigration of Arctic Tundra Caribou from a Traditional Winter Range: Population Dynamics and Physical Condition. Journal of Wildlife Management, 64(1): 168-178.
• Ferguson, M.A.D., Gauthier, L. and Messier, F. 2001. Range Shift and Winter Foraging Ecology of a Population of Arctic Tundra Caribou. Can. J. Zool., 79: 746-758.

The South Baffin caribou are not referred to as a herd but as a “population” because they are not known, like other caribou on the mainland, to form dense post-calving groups or herds. The population is composed of “sub-populations”. Inuit describe those sub-populations based on groups of caribou that tend to migrate together over the seasons and years.

The South Baffin population occupies approximately half of Baffin Island and was estimated at 60,000 – 180,000 animals in the late 1980s. The rugged terrain, uncertain spring weather and dispersed calving areas make Baffin Island a difficult place to survey caribou.

The typical calving ground survey used by biologists to count caribou on the mainland cannot be applied on Baffin Island. Not all caribou sub-populations undertake long migrations to calving grounds. In June, some females calve on or near their wintering areas. Because of logistical problems in surveying most part of the range, the boundaries of the calving areas on Baffin Island are still not well known. June weather in the vicinity of the major calving areas is notoriously bad preventing easy access by aircraft.

In April 1992, about 2000 animals were estimated on Foxe Peninsula, a decrease from about 34,000 in 1984, while in the Kimmirut hunting area the number of caribou increased to 26,000 from 1000 in 1982. The 1992 survey confirmed what Inuit elders in Cape Dorset predicted in the mid-1980s, that caribou would soon stop wintering in their hunting area. They had observed some early signs as caribou wintered onto small islands, foraged on cliff faces and difficult places, and delayed their spring migrations. As predicted, in fall 1988 caribou started moving from Foxe Peninsula to a new wintering area on Meta Incognita Peninsula as people observed a massive immigration of animals.

The number of South Baffin caribou has been fluctuating in all hunting areas over the years. While the number of animals decreased in some areas, other areas saw their numbers increasing. As a whole, the South Baffin caribou population apparently is not in decline.

Calving

Most calving takes place on high plateaus in west central Baffin. Some calving also occurs on the coastal plains east of Foxe Basin. Caribou may also calve on Meta Incognita Peninsula, on western Foxe peninsula and near Mingo Lake but some of these areas have not been visited for many years to confirm the existence of these movements still today. The South Baffin caribou population are not identify by only one specific calving ground as mainland caribou. Some females calve on or near their wintering areas in June without reaching a specific calving ground.

The wide range of the South Baffin caribou population coupled with the uncertain spring weather of Baffin Island, without mentioning the particular behavior of females to give birth en route, have prevented biologists over the years to identify clear calving areas for the South Baffin caribou population.

Management

While the Minister of Sustainable Development has the ultimate responsibility for conservation and management of caribou on southern Baffin Island, that responsibility is shared with Inuit and other governments through the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board (NWMB). Under the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement, the NWMB is the main instrument of wildlife management in Nunavut and the main regulator of access to wildlife. Local Hunters and Trappers Organizations and the Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board, a Regional Wildlife Organization, play roles in the management of harvesting among their members, largely beneficiaries. The Government of Nunavut is responsible to the general public. It derives its authority to conserve and manage big game, including caribou, through Bill 35 – The Wildlife Act.

For the South Baffin caribou, the major conservation issue is that Inuit elders and the Regional Biologist predict that the South Baffin caribou population will soon enter a period of population decline caused by past overgrazing in most of winter ranges on southern Baffin Island. The population was overabundant during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. This decline is likely to last 20-40 years due to the slow re-establishment and growth of depleted lichens. We could expect that caribou would shift their wintering areas every year or two as they search for plentiful food supply. This is how elders described hunting for caribou during the1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Knowledge of the elders will be used to plan how, when and where caribou should be harvested in the future.

Harvesting

Inuit have been harvesting caribou for subsistence without any restrictions for over 40 years. Commercial quotas implemented during 1985-86 allow hunters to sell caribou meat through retail outlets. This makes it possible for settlements with few caribou to purchase meat from settlements where caribou is more plentiful. Hunters are aware of the need for careful management of such harvesting.