Photo: The case of the missing caribou

Wildlife biologist John Nagy of the University of Alberta has determined that the Beverly caribou herd has not disappeared: it’s just shifted its calving area north into Nunavut, from its traditional calving ground to the western Queen Maud Gulf area. The population of the Beverly caribou herd, estimated at 276,000 animals in 1994, appeared to have nosedived in 2010 when spotters counted 93 females, half the number recorded in the summer of 2007 and a huge drop from the 5,737 females counted in 1994. Based on the results a June 2011 survey, Nagy now says the caribou have moved north, confirming the traditional knowledge of elders who maintained the herd had moved. (PHOTO BY JOHN NAGY)