Caribou Herds and Ranges
Status of the Herds
The Beverly Herd – A Beverly herd calving ground survey conducted by the Government of Nunavut (GN) in 2018 showed the herd has decreased significantly since the last population estimate was developed by the GN in 2011. The results showed the Beverly herd has decreased significantly from about 136,600 to about 103,400 animals. This represents a slow decline in herd size of 3-4% per year between 2011-2018.
The survey also showed a decrease in the number of breeding females on the calving ground from 81,000 in 2011 to about 61,000.
As a result of some overlap in the areas used for calving by the Beverly and Ahiak herds, a re-analysis of the 2011 survey results was conducted.
The latest estimates include Adelaide Peninsula animals, which were not included in the original Beverly herd (estimate for 2011).
The BQCMB also conducted a vulnerability assessment for the herd in November 2017, and re-affirmed those results based on the 2018 population estimate. The Board has rated the Beverly herd’s overall current vulnerability level as ‘high’.
For more information, read “Beverly caribou herd at high risk of continued decline.”
The results of the most recent Beverly herd calving ground survey, conducted in June 2023, have not yet been released.
The Qamanirjuaq Herd – In 2017 the Qamanirjuaq herd was estimated to be about 288,000, down from about 344,000 in 2008, and 496,000 in 1994. The most recent survey of the herd, conducted in June 2022, estimates the current size of the herd to be about 253,000 animals – approximately half as many caribou as there were 22 years earlier.
The BQCMB conducted a vulnerability assessment on the Qamanirjuaq herd in 2015/16, and rated the herd’s vulnerability as ‘medium’high’.
The Board believes that any further decline in herd size will reduce the sustainable harvest below the estimated basic needs level, which would be a major problem for the herd and for harvesters of Qamanirjuaq caribou.
For more information, read “Qamanirjuaq caribou herd at medium to high risk of continued decline.”
Habitat and Range
The combined ranges of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq herds total an area almost as large as the Northwest Territories and two times the size of Saskatchewan!
The historic Beverly and Qamanirjuaq winter ranges overlap, mainly in southeastern NWT and northeastern Saskatchewan. During the rest of the year the herds are usually apart, with the Qamanirjuaq herd mainly in the southern Kivalliq region of Nunavut along and inland from Hudson Bay, and the Beverly herd using range in NWT and Nunavut to the west and northwest of Qamanirjuaq range.