Journey North News



Caribou Migration Update: February 8, 1996

Close your eyes and imagine yourself in the caribou's world. The sun set yesterday evening at 5:30 and, for the next 16 hours, you were in darkness. The sun didn't rise until 9 o'clock this morning---and it will set again in less than 9 hours. In fact, since November you've spent almost 75% of your time in complete darkness. The ground is frozen and covered with snow--and it has been cold ALL of the time. With this picture in mind, meet the 5 barren ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) whose migration you'll follow this spring. Over the months that you're with them, keep track not just of their travels but also of the conditions they must endure to survive an Arctic winter. After you locate the caribou on a map, see if you can answer the Challenge Question at the end of this report.

Caribou #06978

Jan 17: 61.370 N, 94.056 W

Jan 22: 61.035 N, 94.013 W

Jan 27: 61.370 N, 94.000 W

Caribou #06980

Jan 17: 59.952 N, 96.870 W

Jan 22: 59.952 N, 96.870 W

Jan 27: 59.757 N, 96.907 W

Caribou #23924

Jan 17: 61.191 N, 105.213 W

Jan 22: 61.195 N, 106.179 W

Jan 27: 61.291 N, 106.899 W

Caribou #23925

Jan 17: 59.731 N, 97.201 W

Jan 22: 59.590 N, 97.580 W

Jan 27: 59.766 N, 97.919 W

Caribou #23926

Jan 17: 59.303 N, 98.289 W

Jan 22: 59.398 N, 98.382 W

Jan 27: 59.409 N, 98.495 W

Try this!

Find out as much as you can about the caribou's place in the Arctic food web. What is available as food in the winter months, with all that ice and snow on the ground? What can these caribou possibly be eating?

Challenge Question #3

"What do barren ground caribou eat during the winter months?"

How to Respond to this Journey North Challenge Question:

1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge@learner.org

2. In the Subject Line of the message write: Challenge Question #3.

3. In the body of the message, give your answer!

We'll share your ideas and those of other students in future reports. You can also see students' answers to Challenge Question on Journey North's WWW site.

The Next Caribou Migration Update Will be Posted on February 22, 1996.



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