Porcupine Caribou Migration
Spring: April 1 - May 31
Spring, Spring Migration and Pre-calving
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Porcupine
Caribou MigrationRange Courtesy PCMB |
Unlike many animals that migrate during two main periods of the year, spring and fall, the Porcupine caribou’s annual migration is divided into 8 major periods with many smaller movements in between. We will make this simpler to fit our 4 major seasons- Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer.
April
1 - May 31:
The caribou, aware of lengthening daylight hours and warming temperatures,
begin to migrate north along the river valleys. The first part of this
season is full of unexpected snowstorms and blizzards sandwiched by warmer,
milder and longer days. Snow depths decrease as they move north beyond
the treeline into the tundra.
As the season progresses, signs of spring are everywhere: ground squirrels
emerging from snowy dens; pussy willows and the odd clump of phlox flowers
already blooming; ptarmigans turning brown from their winter white; creeks
running; and more and more bear tracks merging with the caribou trails
that continue northwest. Cottongrass, one of the caribou's favorite foods,
is in bud.
The first caribou cows reach the coastal plain to birth their calves as
the landscape bursts into spring. Trekkers Karsten and Allison Heuer reported
from the migration trail in the spring of 2003,
"We celebrate the return of the white-crowned sparrows, horned larks, Lapland longspurs, phalaropes, long-tailed ducks, rough-legged hawks and short-eared owls. We watch and laugh as a group of pregnant caribou crowd around a cow moose and her newborn twins for an impromptu tundra mom meeting. And just after crossing into Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge four days ago, we marvel at the harsh beauty of seeing our first caribou calf of the year, born early, already running beside its mother from some unseen threat hours after being born onto a bed of deep snow in a cold, north wind."
Lessons for Spring
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Caribou
Survival Adaptations: Learn and Build Your Own
Behavioral and physical adaptations allow the caribou to survive in the Artic environment. - What
They Mean To Me: Native People Share
What importance does the Porcupine caribou have for the native peoples who share their land? Here is what a number of the members of the Porcupine Caribou Management Board had to say. - Caribou
Migration Experience: Descriptive Writers Create Imagery
In this selection from the 2003 journals of Karsten Heuer and Leanne Allison on their expedition along the caribou migration trail we are drawn into their experience. Use
these memories of their difficult experience for some creative writing.
Oil processing facility - Prudhoe Bay - Wilderness
Issues: The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Oil Drilling
Issue: Should the ANWR be Open for Drilling?
Exposing All Sides: Guide to Making Informed Opinions
Where do you stand on an issue? How do you come to make your stand and form an opinion on any particular topic of controversy? Learn about the oil drilling issues and follow a process to help you find your voice.
Follow the Porcupine caribou migration this year:
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