The Barren Ground Caribou of Keewatin Part 4

Far to the westward, toward Great Slave and Great Bear lakes, the retrograde movements are somewhat different and more complicated (Clarke, 1940: 96).

"Mr. Carl Buchholz, of Churchill, describes the caribou migration at the 60th parallel, north of Churchill, as a southward migration in August, northward in September, and then south in the autumn" (Clarke, 1940: 97). (See also the next paragraph.)

_Fall migration in the Churchill region_

The following notes for 1947 were kindly furnished me by Angus MacIver.

He reported large numbers of Caribou moving southward across Caribou Creek (25 miles south of Churchill) about November 10, a day after the local freeze-up. He would then see thousands in a day. Prior to that time (perhaps in September?) there had been two "runs" to the northward and northwestward; these presumably represented the normal retrograde migration in the fall. The herds engaged in these two northerly movements must have previously pa.s.sed southward farther inland. He reported also that the rutting season this year had commenced a little later than the usual October 15.

_References on migration._--Dobbs, 1774: 20, 22; Hearne, 1795: 39, 40, 56, 66, 74, 85-87, 286, 299; Franklin, 1823: 241-242; Sabine, in Franklin, 1823: 667; Richardson, "1825": 328-329, and 1829: 242-243; G.o.dman, 1831, +2+: 283-284; John Ross, 1835a: 328, 330, 337, 376, 390, 529-530, 628; J. C. Ross, in John Ross, 1835b: xvii; Richardson, in Back, 1836: 498; Simpson, 1843: 76, 196, 233, 277, 301, 320-321, 328, 386; Rae, 1850: 93; Richardson, 1852: 290, 296; Rae, 1852a: 79; J. Anderson, 1857: 326, 328; Murray, 1858: 203; Richardson, 1861: 274, 275; B. R.

Ross, 1861: 438-439; Osborn, 1865: 223-224, 226; k.u.mlien, 1879: 54; R. Bell, 1881: 15C; Caton, 1881: 108; Gilder, 1881: 196-197; Nourse, 1884: 235, 356; Schwatka, 1885: 77-79, 83; Boas, 1888: 502; Collinson, 1889: 244, 290; Pike, 1917 (1892): 48-49, 50, 89-91, 101, 174, 204, 209, 220; J. B. Tyrrell, 1892: 128-130; Dowling, 1893: 103, 107; J. B. Tyrrell, 1894: 442, 1896: 13, 63, and 1897: 10, 19, 21, 49-50, 76, 124, 140, 142, 165; Russell, 1895: 48, and 1898: 88, 226; Whitney, 1896: 157, 238, 241; Lydekker, 1898: 48; J. W. Tyrrell, 1908 (1898): 77-78, 80; Jones, 1899: 368, 374; Hanbury, 1900: 66-67, 69, 71; A. J.

Stone, 1900: 50, 53; W. J. McLean, 1901: 5, 6; Elliot, 1902: 259, 260, 274-275; Preble, 1902: 42; J. W. Tyrrell, 1924 (1902): 26, 31; Hanbury, 1904: 10, 30, 32, 34, 58, 93, 108, 120, 121, 139; Hornaday, 1904: 137; Stone and Cram, 1904: 52; MacFarlane, 1905: 683-685; J. A. Allen, 1908a: 490; Amundsen, 1908, +1+: 97, 102-106, 200, 247, 326-329; Preble, 1908: 137-139; Cameron, 1912: 127; Wheeler, 1912: 199-200; R. M. Anderson, 1913a: 6, and 1913b: 502; Stefansson, 1913a: 94-96, 99, 100, 103, 106, 1913b: 203-204, 224-225, 263-265, 269, 294, 348-350, and 1914: 39, 41, 54; Chambers, 1914: 93; Hornaday, 1914, +2+: 101-104; Wheeler, 1914: 58; Harper, 1915: 160; Camsell, 1916: 21; Thompson, 1916: 99-101; Kindle, 1917: 107-108; Camsell and Malcolm, 1919: 46; Whittaker, 1919: 166-167; Buchanan, 1920: 105-108, 128-129; Hewitt, 1921: 60-63; Stefansson, 1921: 401; Jenness, 1922: 15, 17, 25-26, 125; Blanchet, 1925: 32-34, and 1926b: 46-48; Mallet, 1926: 79; Preble, 1926: 137-138; Rasmussen, 1927: 54, 214-217, 246; Birket-Smith, 1929 (1): 51, 56, 101, 106; Seton, 1929, +3+: 122, 125-128; Blanchet, 1930: 49-52; Critch.e.l.l-Bullock, 1930: 58, 192-196; h.o.a.re, 1930: 13, 14, 16, 21, 22, 27, 31, 33, 36-38; Kitto, 1930: 87; Mallet, 1930: 20-23, 27; Jacobi, 1931: 80-84, 192-210; Harper, 1932: 30, 31; Munn, 1932: 58; Sutton and Hamilton, 1932: 79, 81; Weyer, 1932: 40; Birket-Smith, 1933: 91-94, 112, 118; Ingstad, 1933: 34, 134-135, 156-159, 161, 163, 225, 229-231, 280, 291, 293, 296, 324; Weeks, 1933: 65; R. M. Anderson, 1934a: 81, 1937: 103, and 1938: 400; Hornby, 1934: 105-107; Birket-Smith, 1936: 91; Hamilton, 1939: 244-247, 359; Murie, 1939: 244; Clarke, 1940: 8-9, 11, 85-100; G. M. Allen, 1942: 298-299; Soper, 1942: 143; Downes, 1943: 215, 221, 224, 249, 250, 253-256, 260; Manning, 1943a: 52, and 1943b: 103; Porsild, 1943: 389; Soper, 1944: 248-249; Wright, 1944: 186, 190; Gavin, 1945: 227-228; R. M. Anderson, 1947: 178, and 1948: 15; Manning, 1948: 26-28; Rand, 1948a: 212, and 1948b: 149; Banfield, 1949: 478, 481; Harper, 1949: 226-230, 239-240; Banfield, 1951a: 6, 9-12, 28, and 1951b: 120; Anonymous, 1952: 267; Barnett, 1954: 96, 103.

SUMMATION OF GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

The localities from which hitherto unpublished notes on _Rangifer arcticus arcticus_ are presented in this paper include the following.

Keewatin: Nueltin, Windy, "Highway" (at source of Putahow River), and Ennadai lakes; Little Dubawnt, Kazan, Red, Windy, Little, and Thlewiaza rivers; between Eskimo Point and Baker Lake. Manitoba: Nueltin (southern part), Nejanilini, Reindeer, and Split lakes; Seal River; Churchill; Cape Churchill; "Little Barrens" south of Churchill; between Churchill and Knife Lake; Caribou Creek, 25 miles south of Churchill.

Saskatchewan: small lakes southwest of Reindeer Lake; lakes south of Lake Athabaska. Details as to occurrence and status in these localities are supplied on other pages.

The Caribou have been so thoroughly distributed over the approximately 300,000 square miles of the mainland Barren Grounds between Hudson Bay and the Mackenzie Valley that it is fairly safe to say that there is scarcely one square mile in this vast territory that has not been trod by the animals during the past century. See maps by Preble (1908: pl.

19), Seton (1929, +3+: 60), Clarke (1940: figs. 3, 4), Banfield (1949: 479), and Anonymous (1952: 267).

The appended annotated bibliography supplies, in abstract form, most of the hitherto published information on the geographical distribution of _Rangifer arcticus arcticus_. In its preparation I have included records of Caribou from the Arctic islands north to Lancaster Sound, Barrow Strait, Viscount Melville Sound, and McClure Strait--all approximately in lat.i.tude 74 N. This has been done as a matter of having a convenient, well-defined regional boundary, not with any conviction that _arcticus_ has ranged so far to the north in the more westerly islands, especially in recent years, when it is said to have become restricted to the southern fringe of the islands (Clarke, 1940: 98; R. M. Anderson, 1947: 178; Banfield, 1949: fig. 1). The islands north of lat.i.tude 74 are doubtless the exclusive domain of _Rangifer pearyi_. It is possible that this species may also occur to some extent on Banks, Victoria, Prince of Wales, and Somerset islands. The typical _R. a. arcticus_, as currently recognized, ranges eastward to Baffin, Salisbury, Coats, and Southampton islands and to the western sh.o.r.e of Hudson Bay. (The animals of the last three islands may be distinct insular forms.) The southern limits of the winter range in northwestern Ontario, central Manitoba, northern Saskatchewan, and northeastern Alberta have been discussed in preceding pages. On the west the range extends to the Mackenzie Delta (formerly), Great Bear and Great Slave lakes, Wood Buffalo Park, and Lake Claire. The timbered country (Hudsonian and Canadian Zones) is practically entirely deserted by the Barren Ground Caribou in mid-summer. At this season, in Keewatin at least, the animals tend to draw away also from the southernmost portions of the Barren Grounds.

_References._--Since practically every paper in the entire bibliography presents some data on geographical distribution, only a few, containing more than an average amount of new or summarized information on the subject, have been selected for inclusion in the following list of references: Hearne, 1795; Franklin, 1823; Lyon, 1824; Franklin and Richardson, 1828; Simpson, 1843; Pike, 1917 (1892); Russell, 1898; Preble, 1902; Hanbury, 1904; Amundsen, 1908; Preble, 1908; R. M. Anderson, in Stefansson, 1913b; Stefansson, 1913a, 1913b, and 1921; Hewitt, 1921; Jenness, 1922; Rasmussen, 1927; Seton, 1929, +3+; Blanchet, 1930; Critch.e.l.l-Bullock, 1930; h.o.a.re, 1930; Jacobi, 1931; Clarke, 1940; Manning, 1943a; Wright, 1944; R. M.

Anderson, 1947; Manning, 1948; Banfield, 1949 and 1951a.

_Distributional maps._--Grant, 1903: map following p. 196; Preble, 1908: pl. 19; Dugmore, 1913: 138; Hewitt, 1921: 57; Seton, 1929, +3+: 60, map 2; Jacobi, 1931: 77, fig. 17; R. M.

Anderson, 1934b: 4062, fig. 6; Murie, 1939: 241; Clarke, 1940: figs. 3, 4; Banfield, 1949: 479, fig. 1, and 1951a: figs.

4-10; Anonymous, 1952: 267.

ECOLOGY

_Habitats_

Within their natural range the Caribou apparently resort to practically every type of terrestrial and aquatic habitat (other than cliffs and precipices). On the Barren Grounds proper they frequent the open summits and slopes of the ridges, the dwarf birch thickets, the sedge bogs, and the peat bogs. Their trails traverse all the upland spruce and tamarack tracts, the wooded muskegs, and the willow thickets along the rivers. In the summer and fall they swim the rivers and the narrower lakes, and during the winter and spring they cross these on the ice. They do not avoid rapids; in fact, they seek the shallower ones as fords, and they swim the deeper ones (_cf._ Clarke, 1940: 88). They also cross the tundra ponds on the ice, but probably walk around these smaller bodies of water, as a rule, when they are not frozen. While they may prefer to approach the river crossings over open slopes, they do not hesitate to maintain trails through the dense thickets of willow on the banks.

The winter habitat of the major part of the Barren Ground Caribou population comprises the Hudsonian and upper Canadian Zones. This forested habitat is characterized by spa.r.s.er and smaller timber in the Hudsonian Zone and by denser and taller timber in the Canadian Zone.

Important among the features of this winter habitat are the frozen surfaces of the lakes and rivers, where the Caribou are wont to congregate for their daily periods of rest (_cf._ Mallet, 1926: 79; Ingstad, 1933: 86).

_Trails_

The favorite migratory highways are the long, sinuous ridges that stretch across the Barren Grounds in a sufficiently approximate north-south direction to serve the needs of the Caribou. Here their age-old trails are particularly in evidence and may even be detected from the air. A single small ridge may bear half a dozen or more such trails (fig. 1), roughly parallel but anastomosing at frequent intervals. They probably change but little from generation to generation. They provide the smoothest courses available, avoiding rocks and shrubs and traversing intervening bogs at the most suitable points.

The summits of the ridges const.i.tute vantage points from which the animals may keep a wide lookout for Wolves and human enemies, and on which they may obtain the maximum benefit from fly-deterring breezes.

Man himself is glad to utilize these trails, whether on the Barrens or in the timber tracts, wherever they lead in a direction he desires. They are kept open by the hurrying feet of hundreds or thousands of Caribou every year.

Along a well-used trail extending through low Barrens near Duck Bay, I found a certain gra.s.s (_Agrostis scabra_) growing. I did not recognize or collect it elsewhere during the season. Is this perhaps like certain other species, such as _Juncus tenuis_ (_fide_ Dr. Edgar T. Wherry) and _Eleocharis baldwinii_, in curiously thriving on beaten paths?

When the Caribou arrive at some lake or river, they generally follow the sh.o.r.es for a greater or lesser distance, seeking either a way around or a suitable crossing-place. The trails thus formed are generally on the nearest ridges rather than on the immediate sh.o.r.es. Their direction, as they conform to the winding sh.o.r.es, may diverge very widely from the desired migratory course.

In many parts of the Barren Grounds there must be as many as 10 linear miles of caribou trails to every square mile of territory. Even if there were only one mile of such trails to each square mile, the total, on the Barrens of Keewatin and Mackenzie alone, would equal or exceed all the railway mileage in the United States.

In contrast to the narrow ridges, the broader hilltops in the Barrens offer such freedom of movement to the Caribou that trails are much less likely to be formed in such places, even when they are frequented by large numbers of the animals. Thus I found the broad summit of Josie's Hill practically without well-defined trails, despite the regularity with which many migrant bands resort thither. In feeding or traveling over such an area, there is no occasion for restricting themselves to a narrow course. In crossing from one ridge to another through an intervening bog, the animals may leave numerous scattered and temporary trails in the dense sedge growth to mark their pa.s.sage (fig. 13). On the uniform surface of such a bog, as on the broad hilltops, there is no need to confine their steps to any particular course.

It might be supposed that the Barren Ground Caribou would have some reluctance in entering thickly wooded tracts, where Wolves naturally have a much better chance of a close approach than on the open Barrens.

As already stated, however, their trails may be found more or less throughout the spruce and tamarack growth in the Windy River area. One of these tracts, covering probably several square miles on the west side of Four-hill Creek, is fairly crisscrossed with trails. At deep dusk on October 2, while several of us were skinning a Black Bear in this thick timber, about five does and fawns trotted up quite close to us. Perhaps they were on their way to the open Barrens to pa.s.s the night. While wintering in the forested Hudsonian Zone, the animals may spend their nights as well as their diurnal resting periods on the frozen lakes and rivers.

Fred Schweder, Jr., says that Caribou are somewhat fearful of sand hills or eskers, and that he has never seen one lying down in such a place; he believes this is because the Wolves frequent the eskers in summertime.

On the other hand, Mr. G. W. Malaher spoke of a long esker that extends down the west side of Nueltin Lake and far to the southward; this, he said, forms a migration highway for the Caribou.

_References on habitats and trails._--J. B. Tyrrell, 1892: 129, and 1895: 445; W. J. McLean, 1901: 6; Blanchet, 1925: 33, and 1926a: 73, 96-97; Mallet, 1926: 79, 80; Seton, 1929, +3+: 100-102, 122, 127-128; Jacobi, 1931: 186-187; Ingstad, 1933: 86; Murie, 1939: 246; Manning, 1948: 26-28; Rand, 1948a: 212; Harper, 1949: 226, 228; Banfield, 1951a: 3.

_Influence of weather on distribution_

In the section on _Migrations_ the meteorological conditions in 1947 have been reported for any possible bearing they may have had on the daily movements of the Caribou, particularly during the fall migration.

The temperature has an important effect on the activity of the insect pests (see _Influence of insects on distribution_) and thus, to a certain extent during summer and fall, on the behavior and probably the distribution of the Caribou.

Low winter temperatures on the Barren Grounds do not appear to be a factor of prime importance in the seasonal distribution of _R. a.

arcticus_. "Some individuals and small herds remain in the northern part of the range at all seasons" (R. M. Anderson, 1947: 178). Peary's Caribou (_R. pearyi_) inhabits the more northerly Arctic islands throughout the year, without engaging in such extensive migrations as its relative to the south.

The forceful winds that blow over the Barren Grounds so much of the time are of distinct benefit to the Caribou during the summer in abating the very serious scourge of flies. If other things were equal (as they are not), this factor alone would make the Barrens a more favorable summer habitat than the forested country. (See _Retrograde autumnal movement_.) Air movements of similar strength during the winter must, through the wind-chill factor (_cf._ Siple and Pa.s.sel, 1945), make life so much the harder for any living being; on the other hand, they tend to sweep the ridges bare of snow, thereby making readily available the Caribou's princ.i.p.al winter food of reindeer lichens (_Cladonia_ spp.)

_References._--Armstrong, 1857: 479; Critch.e.l.l-Bullock, 1930: 192, 194-196; h.o.a.re, 1930: 33; Jacobi, 1931: 193, 195; Clarke, 1940: 96, 99; Banfield, 1951a: 27-29.

_Influence of food supply on distribution_

The strong winter winds on the Barrens affect the Caribou in still another way. While they pack the snow so firmly that man may dispense with snowshoes, this condition naturally increases the difficulty that the Caribou experience in pawing through the snow to reach the lichens that are covered by it. The limited grazing capacity of such areas as are laid bare by the wind may force a reduction in the wintering population. Although the snow in the timbered regions to the south covers virtually the whole surface of the land, it is evidently less compact and so offers more favorable feeding conditions than the areas of hard-packed snow on the Barrens. (Charles Schweder states that Willow Ptarmigan will fly out of the Barrens to spend the night in tracts of timber, where the snow is softer and thus more suitable for the nocturnal burrows of these birds.)

Another apparent inducement for resorting to the tracts of timber in winter is the abundance there of tree lichens, such as _Alectoria_ and _Usnea_ (_cf._ Richardson, 1829: 243; J. B. Tyrrell, 1894: 441; Dix, 1951: 287), upon which the Caribou may feed without regard to snow conditions. (See also _Retrograde autumnal movement_.)

Reindeer lichens (_Cladonia_ spp.) and doubtless other lichens are of such slow growth that forest fires may deprive the Caribou of this indispensable food for a period of years. According to Mr. G. W.

Malaher, the recent burning of a large area north of The Pas may have deflected the animals toward the southeast, causing them to extend their migration to an abnormal distance in that direction. For a similar reason in years past, according to Pike (1917 [1892]: 50), they avoided "great stretches of the country" near the Mackenzie River, and also on the south side of Great Slave Lake. A quarter of a century after Pike's time, Dogribs reported that Caribou had not come to the lower Taltson River for several years, "because the timber had been burned off"

(Harper, 1932: 30). Some years ago, extensive fires in Manitoba were said to have been deliberately set by prospectors with the aim of exposing the underlying rock.

Charles Schweder believes that the Caribou show a certain predilection for rocky places, owing to the more luxuriant growth of lichens there.

_References._--Richardson, "1825": 328-329; Bompas, 1888: 24; Pike, 1917 (1892): 50; Wheeler, 1914: 60; Blanchet, 1930: 52; Jacobi, 1931: 192, 194, 195; Harper, 1932: 30; Ingstad, 1933: 34, 161, 163; Hornby, 1934: 105; R. M. Anderson, 1938: 400; Clarke, 1940: 100, 106-107; G. M. Allen, 1942: 299; Downes, 1943: 261; Porsild, 1943: 389; Wright, 1944: 186; R. M.

Anderson, 1948: 15; Banfield, 1951a: 5, 11, 27-29.