(Thanks to the Government of the Northwest Territories for providing the pictures for today's report from their book "People & Caribou In The Northwest Territories".)
From the looks of today's data, it appears the time has finally arrived for all you caribou trackers to do some thinking! This report is full of Challenge Questions for you to solve. We've provided data charts below for each of the 5 caribou cows. According to this information can you answer these questions?
Challenge Question # 90
"Which caribou cow moved the most between April 1 and April 6?"
"How many miles did she go and in which direction was she headed?"
"Which cow has travelled the farthest since March 27th?"
"How many miles did she go and in which direction?"
(Don't worry if you're having trouble with this Challenge Question!) In our next update we'll show you how to measure these distances.)
Guess the Caribou Calving Grounds
There's still time to enter the caribou contest! Take a close look at your map of Canada and note which way each of the caribou cows seems to be heading. Then enter your guess in the contest by answering this question:
Challenge Question # 69:
"Can you guess the location of the caribou's traditional calving grounds?" (Please give the exact latitude/longitude of the place you predict they will go.)
Please read the instructions below to respond to these Challenge Questions.
To: Journey North
From: Robert Mulders, Renewable Resources
Arviat (Eskimo Point), Northwest Territories
"Our survey of the Qamanirjuaq caribou herd is complete as of last Tuesday, April 9th. On our second day out our helicopter encountered a slight mechanical problem. We stopped briefly to refuel (from drums we had cached) and we were unable to restart the helicopter! I've always wondered how reliable the aircraft's survival gear actually is. Now I know--and I was not very impressed! The tent was quite flimsy and not really designed for the winds and -25 C temperatures we experienced that night. Our heating supply consisted of 2 candles! Fortunately we had taken our own sleeping bags along so we weren't too uncomfortable. The next morning another helicopter arrived from Rankin Inlet and we were able to continue our study.
"Last week we classified a few more groups of caribou in northern Manitoba and deployed our last two satellite collars. We encountered a pack of 9 wolves (all gray in colour) approaching a large concentration of caribou. On the east side of Hyde Lake (centering around 60.583 N, 95.067 W) we encountered a fairly impressive corridor and concentration of caribou. Within an area of 50 square miles we probably saw over 30,000 caribou. Jimmy Main, a local high school student, came out with us. He was pretty impressed with what he saw. During the survey we traveled down and got visual sightings for two of the collared caribou you're tracking, # 06978 & #23926. Both females looked healthy and were in groups of about 400 caribou. I'll provide a summary of our result to you later this spring."
Most people think of the Arctic as a remote wilderness, untouched by pollution. However, airborne pollutants can travel to all ends of the earth--thousands of miles from their original sources. Even in the Arctic ecosystem, these chemicals enter the food chain.
One example which affects caribou is a heavy metal called cadmium. Cadmium has been found in the kidneys and livers of caribou. The Caribou News from June and December 1993, reported that rising global airborne pollution has brought cadmium to the north in recent years. It is used very heavily in industry for such products as fertilizers and batteries. It travels as an atmospheric pollutant and ends up in the soils great distances away from its source.
According to the Caribou News articles, the cadmium enters the food chain when caribou eat plants that grow in soils where cadmium is present. Cadmium is a heavy metal and does not leave the body easily. It ends up being stored in the kidneys and livers of the caribou and other animals such as moose, elk, white tail deer and black bear.
The articles go on to say that people who eat the caribou kidneys and livers are susceptible to contamination as well. If they ingest too much cadmium, health problems, such as possible kidney failure, can result. Therefore, authorities in the NWT have advised people not to eat more than 95 grams (three ounces) of caribou kidney per week or more than 420 grams (14 ounces) of caribou liver per week.
Ten years ago today, a nuclear explosion occurred in Chernobyl, Ukraine. Nuclear fallout from this explosion spread around the globe--including Arctic regions. Students in Germany sent the following note for publication today. If you'd like to learn more about ways contaminants travel to the Arctic, contact these students:
"We are a group of pupils from the Helene-Lange Grammar School in Hamburg, Germany. On April 18th our school has a project day commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.
"We are taking part in an e-mail project investigating the radioactive pollution of the arctic region. We are particularly interested in the consequences of the catastrophe on the arctic and we would be grateful if you could send us any sort of information ranging from statistics to personal reports or newspaper articles. We will be on-line on April 18th, from 9 am to 1 pm. Thank you very much for your collaboration." HLG Arctic e-mail project.lange@koerb18.schule.dkrz.d400.de
Caribou Data:
Caribou #06978
Mar 07: No Data
Mar 12: 61.367 N, 94.150 W
Mar 17: 61.338 N, 93.933 W
Mar 22: 61.367 N, 93.900 W
Mar 27: 61.350 N, 93.967 W
Apr 01: 61.367 N, 94.000 W
Apr 06: 61.633 N, 94.083 W
Apr 11: 61.633 N, 94.150 W
Caribou #06980
Mar 07: No Data
Mar 12: 59.840 N, 95.417 W
Mar 17: 59.797 N, 95.272 W
Mar 22: 59.817 N, 95.317 W
Mar 27: 59.800 N, 95.300 W
Apr 01: 59.733 N, 95.500 W
Apr 06: 59.733 N, 95.400 W
Apr 11: 60.033 N, 95.533 W
Caribou #23924
Mar 07: No Data
Mar 12: 60.972 N, 106.042 W
Mar 17: 60.900 N, 106.097 W
Mar 22: 60.933 N, 105.900 W
Mar 27: 61.017 N, 105.933 W
Apr 01: 61.016 N, 105.933 W
Apr 06: 61.250 N, 105.950 W
Apr 11: 61.367 N, 106.083 W
Caribou #23925
Mar 07: No Data
Mar 12: 60.310 N, 96.278 W
Mar 17: 60.333 N, 96.267 W
Mar 22: 60.583 N, 95.567 W
Mar 27: 60.583 N, 95.567 W
Apr 01: 60.583 N, 95.567 W
Apr 06: 60.800 N, 95.417 W
Apr 11: 60.883 N, 95.083 W
Caribou #23926
Mar 07: No Data
Mar 12: 60.248 N, 96.260 W
Mar 17: 60.383 N, 95.537 W
Mar 22: 60.400 N, 95.483 W
Mar 27: 60.383 N, 95.467 W
Apr 01: 60.433 N, 96.467 W
Apr 06: 60.667 N, 94.983 W
Apr 11: 60.667 N, 94.967 W
How to Respond to Challenge Question #69 (or # 90):
1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line write: Challenge Question #69 (or # 90).
3. In the Body of your message, answer ONE of the Challenge Questions: (Please answer only ONE QUESTION in each e-mail message!)
Challenge Question #69
"Can you guess the location of the caribou's traditional calving grounds?" (Please give the exact latitude/longitude of the place you predict they will go.)
or
Challenge Question # 90
"Which caribou cow moved the most between April 1 and April 6?" "How many miles did she go and in which direction was she headed?" "Which cow has travelled the farthest since March 27th?" "How many miles did she go and in which direction was she headed?"
The Next Caribou Migration Update Will be Posted on May 2, 1996
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