Asymmetry in antlers of barren-ground caribou, Northwest Territories, Canada

Pairs of antlers were obtained from 287 barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) of the Kaminuriak herd in the Northwest Territories, Canada. The morphological dominance of the brow tines by antler pair was determined: 15.7% were enlarged on the left; 14.6% on the right; 14.6% on both sides; and 55.1% on neither side. No evidence for a greater rate of occurrence of left or right dominance of the brow tine was obtained when considered by sex or age class (P >0.05). Antler pairs with both brow and bez tines present varied from 84.4% for males with their 5th to 10th set of antlers; 39.3% for males with their 2nd to 4th set; 21.2% for females with their 5th to 16th set; and 6.3% for females with their 1st to 4th set. Both brow and bez tines were present proportionately more often than expected on antler pairs from males compared to females regardless of age (P <0.005). Both brow and bez tines also were present proportionately more often than expected on antler pairs from males (P <0.005), females (P <0.01), or both sexes combined (P <0.01) with their 5th or later set than compared to when they had their 4th or earlier set

Inter-Island Water Crossings by Peary Caribou, South-Central Queen Elizabeth Islands

Satellite and conventional radio telemetry were used to obtain information on daily and seasonal movements of Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) on south-central Queen Elizabeth Islands, Northwest Territories, Canada. Seventeen Peary caribou were captured in 1993 and fitted with telemetry neck collars. Seven collars housed both a Satellite Platform Transmitter Terminal package and radio telemetry package; the other 10 collars all housed only the radio telemetry package. Three of the collared caribou, along with at least 16 of their companion animals, made inter-island water crossings by swimming between Ile Vanier and Massey or between Massey Island and Ile Marc in August 1993. Of particular note is that two-month-old calves, as well as adult caribou, were involved in some of the frigid saltwater crossings. The water crossing between Ile Vanier and Massey Island required a minimum straight-line swim of 2.5 km and that between Massey Island and Ile Marc a minimum 1.6 km swim, depending on points of entry and exit from the water. That evidence composes the first documented account of Peary caribou swimming between any of the Queen Elizabeth Islands.Key words: Peary caribou, Queen Elizabeth Islands, Northwest Territories, inter-island summertime water crossings, swimmingOn a utilisé la télémesure par satellite et la télémesure radioélectrique traditionnelle pour obtenir de l'information sur les déplacements quotidiens et saisonniers du caribou de Peary (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) dans la partie centre-sud des îles de la Reine-Élisabeth situées dans les Territoires du Nord-Ouest au Canada. En 1993, on a capturé 17 caribous de Peary qu'on a équipés de colliers émetteurs pour télémesure. Sept de ces colliers contenaient à la fois un ensemble de terminal émetteur à plate-forme satellite et un ensemble de télémesure radioélectrique, le restant des colliers ne contenant que ce dernier. Durant le mois d'août 1993, trois des caribous équipés de colliers accompagnés d'au moins 16 de leurs congénères ont traversé à la nage les eaux séparant l'île Vanier de l'île Massey ou l'île Massey de l'île Marc. Il est à noter que certaines de ces traversées d'eaux salées glaciales ont été effectuées par des veaux de deux mois aussi bien que par des caribous adultes. La longueur minimale de la traversée de l'île Vanier à l'île Massey était de 2,5 km et celle de l'île Massey à l'île Marc de 1,6 km. Ces longueurs pouvaient être plus grandes, selon les endroits où les animaux entraient et sortaient de l'eau. Ces données démontrent pour la première fois que le caribou de Peary peut nager d'une île à une autre dans les îles de la Reine-Élisabeth.Mots clés: caribou de Peary, îles de la Reine-Élisabeth, Territoires du Nord-Ouest, traversées estivales des eaux entre des îles, nag

Andrew Hall Macpherson (1932-2002)

... As a teenager, Andrew was already living adventures that are the dreams of many teenage boys. From 1949 to 1957, before joining the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS), he gained a lifetime of memories and valuable experience as a member of eight scientific expeditions to the Canadian Arctic. He served as a seasonal field assistant to scientists, working on contracts for the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, the Defence Research Board, the Arctic Institute of North America, the Department of Northern Affairs, and the National Museum of Canada. He made most of his early trips to the Arctic in the company of his mentor and lifelong friend Thomas (Tom) Henry Manning, famed Arctic explorer and geographer-biologist. ... His time in the Arctic convinced Andrew that he wanted to be an Arctic wildlife biologist. So, after completing a B.Sc. degree in Zoology (geology and geography) in 1954 at Carleton College, Ottawa, he went on to complete a M.Sc. in Zoology in 1957 at McGill University, Montreal. ... In April 1958, he joined the CWS to work on Arctic wildlife problems. With glowing annual appraisals, he moved up through all the grades of biologist (I-IV) in only six years .... He continued his studies at McGill and in 1967 received a Ph.D. for his seminal study, The Dynamics of Canadian Arctic Fox Populations. ... In August 1967, Andrew left the Canadian Wildlife Service for a temporary position on the staff of the Science Secretariat, Science Council of Canada, as a project officer for studies in Canadian biological science. Once again, he expressed his desire to be a moving force, or at least a significant contributor to meaningful advances. ... In 1970, a promotion to Director, Western & Northern Region, of the Canadian Wildlife Service brought Andrew to Edmonton, Alberta. ...He ... remained regional director of CWS until 1974. When the department reorganized into five regions, Andrew took a significant promotion to Regional Director General, Environment Management Service, Environment Canada, Western & Northern Region, where he remained until 1986. Always looking for new challenges, he took a temporary posting between April and August 1985 as Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Planning, Environment Canada, in Hull, Quebec. Finally in 1986, apparently sensing the approaching end to his career as a public servant and ever willing to accept one more formidable task, Andrew became Director General, Northwest Territories Region, Northern Affairs Program, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. At the time, he said that he was still interested in innovative management challenges, implementing change, and redirecting programs into promising new avenues. In his Yellowknife position, he helped prepare for the creation of Nunavut, remaining in that position until his retirement in 1988. Once retired, he devoted himself to geopolitical and environmental causes. Andrew had a particularly strong concern about the growth of human population, its toll on natural habitats, and the ever-spiralling rates of consumption of resources. This concern led him to help found the Sustainable Population Society. ... Andrew's publications deal with a wide range of subjects, from conservation, ecology, population dynamics, wildlife management, taxonomy, zoogeography, social and environmental issues, and Inuktitut names for birds and mammals, to popular hunting and fishing articles. Perhaps his personal favorite was his book, The Canadian Ice Angler's Guide, published in 1985 by Lone Pine Publications. There is no doubt that Andrew Macpherson was by anyone's standards a highly intelligent, successful, personable, humorous, and inquisitive person. ... Andrew appeared to be quite successful at keeping his priorities right! [managing to keep his perspective and order priorities for the greatest enjoyment of life]. ... I would like to think that Andrew Macpherson is perched on a high prominence overlooking a game-choked valley and a fish-laden stream - his eternal "happy hunting ground"! ..

Multi-island Seasonal Home Range Use by Two Peary Caribou, Canadian High Arctic Islands, Nunavut, 1993-94

A female and a male Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) were captured on 29 July 1993 on Massey Island, south-central Queen Elizabeth Islands, Nunavut, Canada. Each was fitted with a satellite telemetry neck-collar, released, and tracked by satellite from 1 August 1993 to 31 July 1994. The female caribou used five islands and the male caribou used six islands as seasonal and (collectively) as annual home range. They used five of the six islands (Vanier, Cameron, Alexander, Massey, and Marc) both during the same time periods and at different times. Bathurst Island was used only briefly and only by the male. The male and female occupied the same island at the same time during 54% of the 1993-94 annual cycle. Their seven periods of common occupancy ranged in length from 5 to 88 consecutive days. During the study period, the female moved from one island to another on 11 separate occasions, and the male, on 16 occasions. The female's periods of residence on each island ranged in length from 4 to 95 consecutive days, and the male's from 2 to 169 consecutive days. Their seasonal and annual range-use patterns suggest a degree of flexibility and adaptability to a variable and taxing environment and indicate the important role that relatively small islands play in the ecology of Peary caribou.Le 29 juillet 1993, on a capturé deux caribous de Peary (Rangifer tarandus pearyi), un mâle et une femelle, dans l'île Massey, au centre-sud des îles de la Reine-Élisabeth situées au Nunavut (Canada). Chaque animal a été équipé d'un collier de télémesure par satellite, puis relâché et suivi par satellite du 1er août 1993 au 31 juillet 1994. La femelle a occupé cinq îles et le mâle six, les îles prises individuellement représentant leur territoire saisonnier et, collectivement, leur territoire annuel. Les deux caribous ont occupé cinq des six îles (Vanier, Cameron, Alexander, Massey et Marc) durant la même période comme à des moments différents. L'île Bathurst n'a été visitée que brièvement et uniquement par le mâle. Ce dernier et la femelle ont occupé la même île en même temps durant 54 p. cent du cycle annuel de 1993-1994. Leurs sept périodes d'occupation commune allaient de 5 à 88 jours consécutifs. Au cours de la période d'étude, la femelle s'est déplacée d'une île à une autre à onze occasions distinctes, et le mâle à 16. Sur chaque île, les périodes de résidence de la femelle allaient de 4 à 95 jours consécutifs, et celles du mâle de 2 à 169 jours consécutifs. Leurs régimes saisonniers et annuels d'utilisation du territoire suggèrent une certaine souplesse et faculté d'adaptation au sein d'un environnement difficile et changeant, et ils soulignent le rôle majeur que des îles relativement petites peuvent jouer dans l'écologie du caribou de Peary

Swinging

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Observations of Barren-Ground Caribou Travelling on Thin Ice during Autumn Migration

In October 1982 we observed the consequences of migrating barren-ground (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) encountering lake ice too thin to bear their weight. The observations were made on a portion of taiga winter range of the Beverly caribou herd during autumn migration in the Northwest Territories. We observed caribou hesitating to cross ice that had no snow cover and also saw caribou breaking through ice. Bulls had greater difficulty extricating themselves from the ice water than did relatively light-bodied cows and young individuals. We necropsied one bull that we found dead after it had broken through the ice and remained in the water for more than 20 hours. The bull had died apparently from stress and hypothermia and had heavily traumatized areas on its forelegs and sternum from struggling to break the ice. We could not evaluate the overall extent of injuries and mortalities to caribou from their encounters with thin ice, although we observed signs that at least hundreds had broken through the ice on different lakes.Key words: behaviour, injuries, barren-ground caribou, Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus, thin ice, autumn migration, Northwest TerritoriesMots clés: comportement, blessures, caribou des landes, Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus, glace mince, migration automnale, Territoires du Nord-Oues

Traditional behaviour and fidelity to caribou calving grounds by barren-ground caribou

Evidence for the fidelity of female barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus spp.) of each herd to specific calving grounds is convincing. Involvement of learned behaviour in the annual return of those cows to the same calving grounds implies such actions are a form of «traditional» behaviour. Even wide variations in population size have not yet knowingly led to marked changes in size or location of calving grounds or prolonged abandonment of established ones. Rarely is the adoption of new calving grounds reported and emigration to another herd's calving ground or interchange between calving grounds has not yet been unequivocally documented. The calving experience of individual caribou and environmental pressures may modify the cow's use patterns of her calving grounds. The current definition of herds based on traditional calving grounds may require modification, if increasing caribou numbers result in changes in traditions. However, current data do not contradict either the fidelity to traditional calving grounds or the concept of herd identity based on that fidelity

Effect of adverse weather on neonatal caribou survival — a review

This paper reviews the relationship between adverse weather and neonatal caribou (Rangifer tarandus spp.) survival in North America by examining the available literature and our own findings. The viewpoint that adverse weather on the calving ground can result in major losses of newborn barren-ground caribou (R. t. groenlandicus) calves is largely unsupported. Published reports of calf mortality caused by adverse weather are questionable because causes of death were rarely determined by postmortem examinations. Circumstantial evidence associated with the small samples of dead calves does not support published assumptions that the mortality was weather related, or that high losses due to adverse weather are common events. The applicability of results from physiological testing are questionable, because the calves were restrained and the behaviour of unrestrained animals was ignored in the conclusions drawn from the tests. The relationship between adverse weather and calf mortality is more speculation than documentation yet often has been uncritically cited. In our view, healthy newborn barren-ground caribou are well adapted physiologically and behaviourally to cope with all but the most severe adverse weather

Caribou calf deaths from intraspecific strife — a debatable diagnosis

led to the deaths of several newborn barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) calves within a short period of time and on a small area. This event took place during calving in June 1958 on the calving ground of the Beverly caribou herd in the Northwest Territories. The lack of other examples of multiple deaths of newborn caribou calves from intraspecific strife and our findings on the same calving ground during a study of calf mortality in June 1981, 1982, and 1983 and a study of cow-calf behaviour in June 1981 and 1982 cause us to question the published explanation. As we rarely saw aggressive behaviour among cows and newborn calves that involved actual physical contact and none that resulted in injury or death and because we found instances of multiple killings of calves by wolves {Canis lupus) we suggest that a probable alternative explanation of the 1958 findings is surplus killing by wolves. Most importantly, only direct observation of an event allows separation of a death caused by injuries due to intraspecific strife from a death caused by accidental injuries