Caribou Migration Update: February 13, 2002 Today's Report Includes: Welcome to the Adventure! First Winter Map and Satellite Data Challenge Questions #1 and #2 How to Map Your Caribou Locations Where Do the Caribou Roam? Meet the Gals: Challenge Question #3 The How and Why of Satellite Collaring Armchair Scientists: Monitoring Caribou Climate A CARIBOU JOURNEY: Literature Link "Art for the Arctic" Last But Not Least: Meet our Experts! Welcome to the Adventure! Line of caribou Courtesy Canadian Wildlife Service This year marks the first year that Journey North will focus in on the Porcupine caribou herd, and using satellite telemetry, we will track its members on their annual journey to the calving grounds. With great pleasure and excitement we welcome you to join in the journey! The Porcupine caribou is the 8th largest migratory caribou herd in North America and its range is as geographically diverse as it is large. The herd's arctic migratory range can approach 1,100 kilometers (almost 700 miles) each year in an area about 266,000 square kilometers (over 100,000 square miles) in size. First Winter Range Map and Satellite Data Caribou Migration Map Click on Map to Enlarge With a winter range of about a hundred thousand square miles, you might think it would be pretty hard to find where the caribou are! Every update we will provide new data for you to track, and keep track of the caribou as they move toward their summer calving grounds. Take a look at the most recent locations of our 8 collared caribou. Today's Data For the adventurous, keep your own map and plot the data yourself (see instructions below). Study the map and gather your resources to answer the first Challenge Questions of the season: Challenge Question #1 "Find Cupid, Isabella and Lupine on the map. What geographical feature are they clustered around?" Challenge Question #2 "Find Blixen and Lucky on the map. Can you describe the geographic feature or location where these two caribou are found?" (To respond to these questions, please follow the instructions below.) How to Map Your Caribou Locations If you have a map of the caribou range you can plot each caribou's location as we publish the data. Grab your map, print out the worksheets and follow this set of instructions. Mapping Caribou Satellite Data Where Do the Caribou Roam? Porcupine caribou range Courtesy of PCMB For most of us following the Porcupine caribou as they travel their spring migration route, the Arctic is a geographical region we know little about. Most of us can find Alaska. Yukon Territory, a large Canadian province, lies to the east of there. It is very helpful to find a map of this area that shows the topography (geographical features like mountains and plains). The key to following the caribou is in understanding the lay of the land they chose to wander through. Each year's pattern of movements is unique, with one exception: the calving grounds along the coast of the Beaufort Sea. (The highest concentration falls between Kiktovik, Alaska to the eastern edge of Ivvavik National Park.) No matter where caribou have spent the rest of the year, they unfailingly head for the same calving area each spring unless snow conditions are so bad they must calve elsewhere. Faithfulness to this calving area is what defines the Porcupine Caribou as a herd and has been the cornerstone of its survival for thousands of years. Stay tuned - In the next Update we will offer a fun edible map to make! Meet the Gals Isabelle on capture day Courtesy Satellite Collar Project Sometime in 1997 a cooperative project was put together between a number of wildlife agencies and Boards to use satellite radio collars to document seasonal range use and migration patterns of the Porcupine Caribou herd in northern Yukon, Alaska and NWT. A small group of female caribou were "adopted" and given names by school children in northern communities. Journey North will give you each caribou's location every update, from now until spring, and you can track them in your classroom! The caribou we're following this year are named Blixen, Cupid, Donner, Isabella, Lupine, Trudy, Lucky and Lynetta. Each one is as special as its name, and has their own ideas about where they will wander in the vast and majestic wilderness of the northern Arctic. Read more about each caribou and think about which caribou you think will be the fun one to track! Meet the Gals Now try this Challenge Question. Challenge Question #3 "Why do you think they choose to collar only cows (female caribou)?" (To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.) The How and Why of Satellite Collaring Courtesy US Fish and Wildlife Service Getting animals' locations using conventional collars can be a problem when they live the far north. Extreme cold, blizzards and enduring darkness make locating the animals by plane difficult or impossible for much of the year. A satellite collar can send a signal in the dark of night and even in the middle of a blizzard. To unveil the mysteries behind this tracking technique, take a look at some great pictures and explanations. Satellites and Caribou Armchair Scientists: Monitoring Caribou Climate Thanks to technology, you can sit in the comfort of your climate-controlled classroom and conduct science observations in the Arctic. One simple activity you could do is to graph daylength in caribou land. Imagine you live in Old Crow, Yukon. This small native village is right in the caribou migration path. Compare your daylength at home with the daylength in Old Crow. Daylength Chart Keeping track of your own daily temperature highs and lows this spring? Here is another way to compare yours with caribou land temperatures. Temperature Chart A CARIBOU JOURNEY: Literature Link Did you know: More caribou live in Alaska than people! There are 32 caribou herds that roam across Alaska, nearly a million animals! In her beautiful and detailed book, A CARIBOU JOURNEY, Debbie Miller presents dramatic depictions of a caribou mother and calf in their search for food, escapes from attacking eagles and tormenting mosquitoes, and the perils of migrating. These are just some of the scenarios intertwined into the stories of caribou that Debbie Miller brings alive in her award-winning and outstanding picture book for ages 7 and up. For more information visit Debbie Miller's Web site. "Art for the Arctic" Art for the Arctic Davis, CA Elemtary School  Is your classroom studying the Arctic this winter? Here is a wonderful way to put some art and purpose into your studies. Join writer Debbie Miller, author of A CARIBOU JOURNEY and teachers all over North America in "Art for the Arctic." Send your artwork to your U.S. Senators and let them know you support habitat for wild animals in the arctic. Interested? Find out more here: "Art for the Arctic" Last But Not Least: Meet our Experts! Tracking the Porcupine caribou migration would not be possible without many people who give their caribou expertise to Journey North. Take a moment to meet these remarkable caribou experts. Meet the Team How to Respond to Today's Challenge Questions: IMPORTANT: Answer only ONE question in each e-mail message. 1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-caribou@learner.org 2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question # 1 (or #2 or #3). 3. In the body of EACH message, give your answer to ONE of the questions above. The Next Caribou Migration Update Will Be Posted on February 27, 2002. Copyright 2002 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form