COSEWIC’s 2004 assessment report on the Peary caribou suggests increased amounts of freezing rain in the High Arctic is preventing the caribou from finding enough moss and lichen to eat. L. David Mech Why is the Peary Caribou endangered? Climate change is altering the habitat of Arctic caribou, increasing the presence of biting flies in the summer, and creating irregular icing events in … Also known as reindeer, caribou have roamed North America for some 1.8 million years. (Photo: Alex Elliott/Can Geo Photo Club). Inuit in Baker Lake, Nunavut, however, knew better. Cancel Unsubscribe. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Caribou herds can be found from the High Arctic region south to the boreal forest and Rocky Mountains and from the east to the west coasts. These ice layers hinder foraging and are the likely cause for dramatic drops in caribou population in the future. For the caribou populations that have been listed for protection, often after long delays, the stages that follow are taking far too long in almost all cases.  While the management plan was being written for Dolphin and Union caribou, for example, the very factors being written about in the plan worsened and these caribou had to be reclassified as endangered. The World Conservation Union assessed Peary caribou as endangered in 1996. 40 pp. This as a result of some evidence of population recovery as warmer summers boosted forage growth after severe population die offs from weather events during the 1990s. COSEWIC designated Peary caribou of the Queen Elizabeth Islands (the “High Arctic”) population and Banks Island as endangered, and the Prince of Wales-Somerset, Boothia and Dolphin and Union (collectively, “Low Arctic”) populations as threatened in 1991. Caribou are also important to the … Similarly, Vors says warmer summer temperatures mean more biting and parasitic insects, which distract caribou from feeding. Some have almost entirely disappeared, such as the Dolphin and Union caribou in the 1920s, only to rise again in numbers decades later. Unsurprisingly, it is part of the group known as Tundra reindeer. Fish and Wildlife Service). The Royal Canadian Geographical Society is dedicated to making Canada better known to Canadians, and the world. During the nine years I served on the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (the body that undertakes assessments of Canada’s wildlife species under the federal Species at Risk Act), the single most challenging task was systematically evaluating the status of these 11 groups of caribou. Inuit traditional knowledge was collected in a “fair and balanced way” for the report used to recommend Peary caribou be treated as an endangered species, according to its author. But in most cases where historical fluctuations have long been documented, continued population declines with little sign of resurgence (such as healthy calf production) are of profound concern. (Maps: Chris Brackley/Can Geo), Canadian Geographic student geography challenge, Help designate an official bird for Canada, Grade 8 students exploring Parks Canada sites, Compare countries' statistics and explore our changing world, Innovative projects in the developing world, The revolution of mapping in the First World War, Canadian pilots heroically earn their wings, Canadian Geographic magazine in french: Géographica, Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, Accessibility Standard for Customer Service Plan. What are facts about the caribou?-Some caribou migrate over 3000 miles a year. Canadian Geographic is a magazine of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Barren ground caribou grazing in autumn. The decline is attributed to “severe icing episodes” (when the vegetation caribou feed on gets encased in ice because of fluctuating temperatures, causing caribou to starve). The reason they are endangered is the short supply of food during the winter months. 1991. The Peary caribou, called tuktu in Inuinnaqtun/Inuktitut, and written as ᕐᑯᑦᓯᑦᑐᒥ ᑐᒃᑐ in Inuktitut syllabics, is a major food source for the Inuit and was named after Robert Peary. The efforts paid off: in late 2002, some 30,000 caribou migrated back into the Yukon for the first time in 50 years. Increased hunting pressure due to the construction of northern highways, as well as more wolves and extreme weather, caused their numbers to drop to 6,000 by 1973. For both Dolphin and Union and Peary caribou, moving across sea ice is a constant in their annual travels, but now these movements could be disrupted by both weaker ice and increased ship traffic. Click here to learn more. In early June, nutritionally deprived females give birth to calves near the Beaufort Sea and spend a month foraging and feeding their newborn young in a relatively predator-free idyll. Miller, F.L. Endangered Species - Peary Caribou Nicole Garcia. Observations of Peary caribou yielded approximately 97 adult males, 229 adult females, 31 young males, 31 yearlings, and 23 unclassified adults for a total of 410 animals. In some areas, the caribou also faces threats from poaching. It all adds up to a shortage of nutrients and a lower survival rate for both adults and calves. So what happens now? They are mostly white with a slate back and a grey stripe down the front of the legs. 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