Circumpolar study tracks caribou, reindeer across Arctic
Uniform testing methods to help Whitehorse biologist see global changes in herds
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 | 4:28 PM CT
CBC News
An international network of scientists is examining caribou and wild reindeer herds across the Arctic, from Alaska and the Yukon to Russia and Greenland.
The four-year, $4-million International Polar Year project aims to gather consistent data across the circumpolar region on those herds, how they are changing, and how that affects people who depend on the animals for survival.
An international study will examine the effects of a changing habitat on herds around the circumpolar region. Caribou cross a river in this undated photo.
(Canadian Press)
Whitehorse caribou biologist Don Russell, who is leading the research from the Northern Research Institute at Yukon College, said he wants to document the impacts of climate change, industrial development and social change on 10 herds in Greenland, Russia, Alaska and northern Canada.
"It's very exciting to be able to work across the circumpolar North, to expand what we've learned in the 30 years that I've been working … on caribou in North America," Russell, a longtime caribou researcher, said in an interview with CBC Radio.
"I'm really excited to see some of the differences and a lot of the similarities."
To do that, he and his team want to introduce testing standards, in order to make sure scientists in all participating countries are gathering data that can be compared with each other easily. That data may include things like the animals' fat and protein levels, or details of when the snow melts in a caribou herd's habitat.
Other Canadian partners in Russell's project include researchers at Environment Canada and the University of Calgary. All participating scientists will meet this November in Vancouver, where Russell said he plans to hold a laboratory training session to introduce uniform animal testing standards.
Russell said he recently met with colleagues in Siberia, who are studying the Taimyr reindeer herd — believed to be the largest in the world, with an estimated 600,000 to one million animals. Exact population numbers on that herd aren't available.
"In fact, one of the key outcomes of our meetings in Siberia is that we will develop or contribute to a national strategy for Russia on putting on satellite collars on their herds," he said.
"The problem is they can't seem to get central permission to apply these satellite collars, so we're going to try and sort of get rid of the mystique of what these things actually are."
Russell said the Canadian herds that will be part of his research include the Porcupine caribou herd that roams across the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Alaska; the Bluenose West herd in the Northwest Territories; and the Southampton Island herd in Nunavut.
Share Tools
Latest North News Headlines
- Yukoners need to change poverty perceptions, says report
- A new report on poverty in Yukon is calling for action from the territorial government. However, poverty activists are also calling for Yukoners to adjust their attitudes. more »
- N.W.T. budget calls for $74M surplus
- The N.W.T. is forecasting its first surplus in five years in its 2012-2013 budget, Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger announced in the legislative assembly this afternoon. more »
- N.W.T. commissioner's goals for the territory
- The N.W.T.'s budget comes down this afternoon, and even though the finance minister has said it will be a frugal year, there are plenty of projects all over the territory which need money. more »
- Iqaluit man pleads guilty to drug and sex offences
- A sentencing hearing is underway today in Iqaluit for the man who once ran the so-called 'Qikiqtaaluk Compassion Society' where he sold marijuana. more »
Top News Headlines
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest

- The difficulty, danger and expense of removing the bodies of climbers who died in Mount Everest's "death zone" mean most of the dead remain on the mountain as a stark reminder to other climbers of the risks. more »
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Raw stories about bullying emerged when a video booth was set up inside a Quebec high school. more »
- Neil Macdonald: How compromise became a dirty word in Washington
- As brinkmanship becomes the norm in this U.S. election year, some policy analysts, and even some long-serving Republicans, are calling out today's GOP for practising 'the new politics of extremism.' more »
- Conservatives move again to have robocalls suits tossed
- The Conservative Party has filed a second motion to dismiss the robocalls lawsuits filed by the left-leaning Council of Canadians, calling council chairperson Maude Barlow a "virulent critic" of Prime Minister Stephen Harper who has "orchestrated" the litigation. more »
- Investigation finds 3 electoral violations in N.W.T. riding
- Whitehorse man appeals drunk driving conviction
- Yukoners need to change poverty perceptions, says report
- N.W.T. budget calls for $74M surplus
- Iqaluit man pleads guilty to drug and sex offences
- N.W.T. commissioner's goals for the territory
- Winning lottery ticket sold in Whitehorse
- Memorial service held Saturday for Ice Pilots' Arnie Schreder
- Hockey the only ice sport in 2016 Arctic Winter Games
An international study will examine the effects of a changing habitat on herds around the circumpolar region. Caribou cross a river in this undated photo.
