The wildlife board that manages the Beverly caribou herd says the once-massive herd continues to show a massive decline in numbers.

The Beverly herd, which roams the tundra from northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan and well into the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, once numbered about 276,000. Fourteen years ago, there were almost 6,000 females in the herd.

Last year's calving ground survey showed only 93 females. This year, there was less than half that number.

Ross Thompson of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board said there are so few animals that the statistical methods used to count them may no longer be accurate.

The board issued a warning last December following last summer's herd count. And now the rapid decline of the herd's numbers appears to be continuing.

"We still have to keep the pressure on," he said. "Definitely we have to keep up the monitoring from all aspects, that's land use, cow-calf ratio, enforcement — we really need to bring all the tools forward to hasten the recovery of the Beverly herd."

The board is considering asking hunters to take only bulls and may introduce a zero-tolerance policy for wasted meat.

Board members believe as the Beverly herd's numbers drop, hunting pressure will increase on the other herds that use the same area.

The Beverly and neighbouring Qamanirjuaq herds are hunted by people in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Pinpointing the cause of the decline in the Beverly herd and other caribou populations is complicated and difficult to explain, experts say.

Some suggest climate change is playing a role, altering the delicate timing of spring thaw and calving.

Others point to increasing industrial activity on the tundra, noting the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq's calving grounds are home to nearly 1,000 mineral leases. And some say modern hunting methods are crimping the ability of the herds to recover.