Contents:
Updated May 17, 2004
March 2004 Porcupine Caribou Fieldwork
Winter Satellite Locations
Telemetry relocation
Capture locations
Meet our newest caribou
Caribou data
Composition count data
Winter satellite collar locations
Click on map to enlarge
Movements of Satellite collared cow caribou during winter months, December 1, 2003 to March 16, 2004
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If you have been following the movements of the satellite collared Porcupine Caribou Herd cows, you may have noticed that starting in the fall the herd split up into seperate wintering areas in Alaska and Yukon. During the winter months of 2003 - 2004, the caribou experienced record snowfalls in some areas of their range and prolonged periods of cold weather. We didn't see much movement by the caribou this winter.
In late December 2003, one of our satellite collars went off the air. We had been following Lucky, named by schoolchildren in Tsiigehtchic, NWT, since this program began in 1997. Lucky's VHF transmitter failed shortly after she was recollared in 1999, so we were never able to find her on the ground to remove her old collar and replace it with a new one. *Note: a satellite collar contains seperate batteries for the Satellite transmitter and the VHF or radio transmitter.* Her last transmission showed that she was near the Ogilvie River just west of the Dempster Highway.
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Telemetry relocations
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Locations of radio collared caribou, March 16th to 22nd, 2004
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March 15th and 16th, 2004, Tara Wertz and Dave Sowards with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) conducted telemetry flights and found 82 active radio collared caribou. The collared animals were roughly divided between Yukon and Alaskan winter ranges. 34 cows and 5 bulls were in Alaska, while 35 cows and 8 bulls were in the Yukon. In the Yukon, the caribou were spread out from the northern edge of Tombstone Park to just south of Old Crow. In Alaska, the caribou ranged from Arctic Village to the Yukon / Alaska border.
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Capture locations
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Locations of caribou captured March 18 to 23 for deployment of radio and satellite collars
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Between March 18 and 23, YTG staff Vince Fraser, Dorian Amos and Martin Kienzler captured 12 caribou for deployment of conventional (Radio) collars. Five radio collars were placed on bulls, while 7 were fitted on 9-month-old females (short yearlings).
At the same time, Steve Arthur and Alaska Department of Fish and Game staff were capturing and collaring caribou in the Alaska portion of the winter range. Steve and his crew deployed 2 radio collars on bulls, and 8 on cow caribou.
Click on photos to enlarge
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Short-yearling cow
Collared bull after release
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Meet our newest caribou
This year we had 5 satellite collars to deploy. These collars were provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. We had intended on recollaring Isabella and Catherine, as the batteries on their collars may not last until March 2005. Unfortunately, both of these caribou were in locations where recapture was not possible. Therefore, 5 new caribou were captured and entered the program. We are hoping that Isabella and Catherines collars remain on the air until March 2005 so that we can remove their collars at that time.
All of the caribou that were selected were fairly young and in good condition. The satellite collars were spread out in relation to caribou distribution (refer to map above). Three were collared in Yukon, and 2 in Alaska. As has become tradition, the caribou received names from a number of different sources.
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'Aurora' ready to be released by Dorian Amos and Martin Kienzler
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In Yukon, a naming contest was held at a Career Fair in Dawson City. Many imaginative names with northern references were submitted by school kids. The name chosen by a panel of judges was 'Aurora.' 3 enteries were made with this name, from Tarie Castallarin, Amanda (didn't give her last name), and one other person who preferred to remain anonymous.
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'Pingo' - note the blindfold which is used during handling of the caribou to reduce stress.
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The second caribou captured in the Yukon was named 'Pingo', by Catherine Kennedy. Catherine is a vegitation ecologist with the Government of the Yukon, and has spent a lot of time working in the north, including within the range of the Porcupine Caribou.
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'Iola'
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As the third caribou collared in the Yukon was in Fishing Branch Territorial Park, the Parks staff were offered the chance to name this caribou. Dorian Amos, Senior Park Ranger for Tombstone and Fishing Branch Parks, who also helped with the captures this year, chose the name 'Iola', after his spouse's grandmother.
In Alaska, Tara Wertz coordinated a contest with school children in Arctic Village and Kaktovik to name the 2 caribou collared there. The winning entry from Arctic Village was submitted by sixth-grader Brittney Hollandsworth, who wanted a caribou named 'Cocoa'. The winnning entry from Kaktovik came from second-grader Luki Soplu. Her favorite caribou name is 'Rocky'.
For more information on the history of the caribou involved in this program, click here.
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Caribou data
Measurements taken from captured caribou
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When we capture caribou, we do more than fit them with collars for tracking. We also record whether or not they are accompanied by a calf, how old they are, collect measurements on the body size and condition of the animal, and collect blood samples for contaminants analysis, DNA testing, and with the cows, to see if they are pregnant. This data is collected from all caribou to compare body size and health between herds. The image on the right shows where these measurements are taken from.
Below is a table with some of the data we collected from the caribou collared with satellite transmitters spring 2004. Note that all length measurements are in centimeters, and weight of the caribou is recorded in kilograms.
In the field when handling live animals, we estimate age by looking at the wear on their teeth.
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Composition count data
During March fieldwork we also conduct composition counts to get an estimate of overwinter survival of calves. Generally we classify caribou as: cows, calves, mature bulls, and immature bulls. This year we found 32.8 calves per 100 cows, which is slightly below the 10 year average of 36.5 per 100, but still within the range where it is hoped the herd will increase. The numbers this year were based on animals classifed in the Yukon only, as the Alaskan team ran into bad weather, and were not able to classify caribou on the Alaskan portion of the winter range.
Mature bulls are identified as those males that have lost their antlers by March, whereas immature bulls still have their antlers. Although we record the number of bulls that we find, we do not use this information because by spring the bulls and cows have already begun to separate, and we cannot be sure that our count is an accurate representation of the number out there.
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