Caribou Migration Update: May 21, 2003

Today's Report Includes:

• The Race is On
• Carmen...
• Click-clacking of Feet Along the Migration Trail
• Mileage Meter for Karsten and Leanne
• Yukon River Ice-out: Winter’s Goodbye
• Arctic Culture and Caribou: Showing What You Learned this Season
• Native Lore
• Year-end Evaluation: Please Share Your Thoughts!

• Today's Data

We know that death is a natural component in all living systems. Every living thing has a place in the food chain. But we still wonder; was Carmen weakened by the capture process? Did a wolf see this weakness and pursue her? Or, was she simply the one in the group to be singled out that particular day like Karsten described in his recent update from the migration trail:
“...a lone wolf that puts the chase on a herd across the open expanse of the plain, a gray dot pursuing a group of animals that spreads like a stain ahead of it, running full-out for 5 miles until finally the herd splits and a yearling lags a few strides, falters, zigs one last time, then is pulled to the ground.”

Journaling Questions

1. Do you think it is a good idea to get “up close and personal” with our research animals?
2. Would it be better if we gave them numbers instead of names?
3. Do you think it is important for children to become involved with wild animal research knowing that death is a natural component in any ecosystem?

Martin Kienzler wrote about the possibility of retrieving Carmen’s collar for next year:

“We definitely will try to recover the collar, though I am not sure when this will happen. Her collar is a long distance off the highway, and at present, we aren’t planning a special trip to try and recover it, as it will require the use of a helicopter. Rather, we will likely wait until there is other work in the area, to try and reduce the cost. The US Fish and Wildlife Service will begin flying a radio-telemetry migration survey next week in a fixed wing plane, and though they probably won’t be able to land there, they will track in on her collar to see where it is lying.”

Catherine Tumberg Gov't NWT

• Read more about the Arctic Adaptations: These Feet are Made for Walking

Teacher Tip
Journey North offers a Reading And Writing Connection for this selection. This Connection features a lesson specifically designed to provide opportunities for modeling, guided practice, and application of reading strategies. The lessons incorporate the essential strategies readers use before, during, and after reading.

• Reading and Writing Connection for “These Feet are Made for Walking

View their migration path on the map. (K&L are represented by the rabbit symbol.) Map courtesy of PCH Collar Project

Can Karsten and Leanne, our two adventurers on their "Being Caribou" expedition keep up with the caribou? This is a question many experts have wondered. During the spring migration, caribou can travel huge distances without much rest. You might say they are obsessed with reaching the coastal plain by early June. Can a couple of 2-legged humans set their pace to meet the swift-footed caribou? We have some statistics about Karsten and Leanne's mileage.

1. How many miles total have they traveled from April 17 to May 6th?
2. How many days is this?
3. What is the average distance that they have covered each day?

How are they doing on this journey? Take a look at some of the most recent photos they sent to share.

Carrying skis!	A typical day's ski	Food-drop plane	Flat land for food-drop
Karsten at the plane	Narrow trail made by caribou	Leanne making tea	Caribou on a snowy slope

Interested in keeping up with "Being Caribou?" You can visit their Web site through November 2003:

• Being Caribou: Seven Months on Foot with an Endangered Arctic Herd

Ice-out Yukon River: 107 years Courtesy Arctic Borderlands

Ice-out at the Yukon River at Dawson city was officially recorded this year on April 30. The 100 year average for the Yukon River breakup in Dawson is May 9.

What pattern do you see on the graph?

• Are temperatures stable across all 107 years?
• Are they increasing? Decreasing?
  

The average date of break-up (107 years of data) is May 9th with a one month range between the earliest (April 29th) and latest date (May 28th).

1. Why is it important to keep ice-out records?
2. What kinds of things can we learn from them?
3. How would animals and people be affected by the timing of ice-out?

Chandalar in winter Courtesy S. Kalinowski

What Did YOU Learn About Caribou?

True or False
1. Only caribou bulls (males) have antlers.
2. The Sierra Nevada Mountains are one of the mountain ranges found within the Porcupine Caribou migration range.
3. The caribou's favorite winter foods are nuts and berries.
4. Native Gwitch'in people have always used plastic beads, scrapers and spoons.
5. Karsten and Leanne, the "Being Caribou" team are migrating with the herd. They are using snowmobiles for transportation.
6. Many native (aboriginal) people live off the land in the Arctic.

Explain your Answer
1. Why are the individual hairs in the caribou's fur hollow? (This is an adaptation.)
2. There are no paved roads inside ANWR. Why?
3. Old Crow, Yukon Territory, a small town of 300 aboriginal people is located at the confluence of the Crow and the Porcupine Rivers. If you wanted to visit, how would you get there? (Think summer and winter.)
4. Trudy was not an old caribou when she died this spring. What are the best guesses about how she died?
5. Can you walk across the Beaufort Sea in the winter? Why?
6. List some of the reasons caribou cows have adapted to having their calves on the coastal plain?
7. Daylength has changed significantly in the Arctic since February. Use this table to help:

Date	Sunrise	Sunset	Hours of Daylight
02/04/03	10:18	16:50	you calculate
05/20/03	2:47	23:51	you calculate

Calculate how much daylight there was on Feb. 4. How many more hours of light do they have May 20? How many hours have they gained?

Answers can be found here (don't peek until you're done!):

• Caribou Quiz Answer Page

"If you are lost on a sunny day, put a short stick upright in the ground. Every few minutes as the sun travels across the sky, mark the end of the shadow cast by the stick. The shortest shadow will indicate north. If the day is cloudy, you may tell direction from the thickness of the bark on the willow. On the south side the bark is thick and smooth; on the north side it is thin with spiny projections. You may also check direction by the depth of moss on a knoll; it is thickest on the north side." From “Household Hints from the Northern Cookbook.” Compiled by Bert Christensen

Thank You!

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