click on the image to view the mapped satellite data (1985-1990)

By early September groups start getting larger again, but never as large as the group sizes of the summer. Usually the first snow in September will drive the caribou south of treeline, with their first major obstacle being the Porcupine River.

Fall is the time that most of the harvest of the herd takes place, primarily by nine aboriginal communities in Alaska, Yukon and Northwest Territories. Harvest is estimated at 3,000 - 5,000 caribou per year, or about 2 - 3% of the Herd.

The caribou move around a great deal in the fall. The breeding season does not occur in any specific region, but wherever the Herd happens to be between the 10th and 20th of October.