Seasonal movements of satellite-collared caribou from the Bathurst herd

SUMMARY We tracked the movements of between six and 19 caribou cows from the Bathurst herd from April 1996 to December 2000 using collars that transmit to a satellite. Spring migration routes partially depended where the caribou wintered which changed from northwest of Great Slave Lake to southeast of Great Slave Lake in winter 1997/98 and 2000/01. In winters of 1998/99 and1999/2000, distribution was split with caribou northwest and southeast of Great Slave Lake. The use of the satellite collars confirmed that the Bathurst herd moved into northern Saskatchewan early in the winters when the caribou were southeast of Great Slave Lake. Caribou movements were most synchronized during pre and postcalving migrations when daily rates average 20 km/day. During spring migration in 1996 and 1997, caribou traveled slightly faster as they neared the calving grounds but in 1999 and 2000, they slowed down as they were closer. We only found a weak suggestion that mosquito and warble activity may increase summer movements due to limitations within the data. The calving grounds were the smallest and most predictable part of the annual range and the area used during the rut varied most in size. The information on the distribution and migration of the caribou cows is relatively detailed baseline information geographically but limited in time to four years which is why the study is complimentary to the WKSS traditional knowledge studies 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS