To: Journey North From: Orin Durey, Baker Lake, NWT, Canada
Got the latest caribou satellite coordinates from Dave Abernathy for you. The 3 cows are a distance apart. We're not sure if they're at opposite ends of the herd. We'd have to fly over and check visually. Looks like they're still milling around south of the NWT/Manitoba border. I think there is a loose milling around down there now. The great concentrations come later as the migration gets rolling.
In conversation with Dave, NWT Regional Wildlife Technician, he mentioned a number of things that can be of interest to Journey North students in the study of the caribou.
As you know, there are three cows left. He would dearly love to see one of those cows wander off to the northwest and join the Beverly Herd. That would prove the hypothesis that caribou from the two herds intermingle. The Beverly herd has come up 100,000 short twice, 1993 and 1994. Speculation is that there is a lot of intermingling between the two herds. But no proof yet. Other indicators are the Beverly herd is healthy (for example good cow/calf ratio and cow/bull ratio). Also there are observations of normal health of the individual animals-- body fat, muscle tone, condition of coat, etc. The Qamanirjuaq herd is staying stable at about 250,000 animals.
Here's the data:
76 Feb 14 59 00 N 101 09 W 77 Feb 14 59 39 N 97 40 W 79 Feb 14 58 10 N 99 03 W
76 Feb 18 58 57 N 101 38 W 77 Feb 18 59 39 N 97 40 W 79 Feb 18 58 06 N 99 34 W
76 Feb 22 59 11 N 102 02 W 77 Feb 22 59 37 N 97 36 W 79 Feb 22 58 07 N 99 37 W
76 Feb 26 59 19 N 102 13 W 77 Feb 26 59 51 N 97 43 W 79 Feb 26 58 07 N 99 37 W
76 Mar 02 59 34 N 102 25 W 77 Mar 02 59 41 N 97 42 W 79 Mar 02 58 07 N 99 37 W
76 Mar 06 59 55 N 102 56 W 77 Mar 06 59 40 N 97 41 W 79 Mar 06 58 09 N 99 37 W
Would you believe we had -49 C this morning north of here at Shepherd Bay. Yesterday morning and this morning it's been -42 C and -41 C respectively. That's nippy, but the sun is shining so Spring can be far behind. Seeya, ...Orin
CHALLENGE QUESTION:
Background: You do not need a map to track the changes in the caribous' locations. We recommend each student make a chart to record the locations of each cow. As the readings are compared from day to day, you can easily see how much the animal is moving and in which direction. (List the the dates along the left side of your paper, and the three animals' collar numbers along the top.)
Using this method, see if you can answer this CHALLENGE QUESTION:
Do you notice anything unusual about the readings from one of the 3 cows between February 14th and March 6th?
Send your answer to: jnorth@informns.k12.mn.us