the edges of Windy River were frozen, while pieces of ice
floated down the river. The day was cloudy, with continual snow
flurries after noon; wind light to brisk, southeast;
temperature, 21° to 31°; about 6 inches of snow on ground.
The 2nd was cloudy, with some rain and sleet; wind moderate to
brisk, southeast to west; temperature, 29° to 34°. No Caribou
sighted for two days.
On the 3rd it was cloudy all day; wind light, northwest;
temperature, 16° to 20°. A herd of about 50 Caribou (largely
does, with a few fawns and well-antlered bucks) hurried down the
side of Little River Ridge onto the ice of Duck Bay, with the
apparent intention of crossing to the south side of Windy Bay;
but they were intercepted by a hunter and retreated
northwestward along the ridge. Fred secured three
southward-traveling bucks at a distance from camp.
No Caribou were sighted on the three following days (November 4
to 6), which were more or less cloudy, with some snow; wind
light to brisk, southerly to northerly; temperature, 13° to
24.5°; ice 3 inches thick on Windy Bay; about 6 inches of snow
on ground.
There was snow during the night of November 6 and the morning of
the 7th, resulting in drifts up to a yard deep; wind brisk,
northerly; temperature, -3° to 13°. Fred reported "lots" of
Caribou some 10 miles to the north, moving south.
The next three days (November 8 to 10) varied from cloudy (with
a snow flurry) to sunny; wind moderate to strong, northwest and
north; temperature, -10.5° to 1°; 6-8 inches of snow (much
drifted); Windy River gradually becoming ice-covered. No Caribou
sighted.
November 11 was partly sunny; wind moderate to brisk, northerly;
temperature, 3° to 6.5°; about 8 inches of snow on the average.
Mike Schweder reported five does moving south across the mouth
of Windy River on the ice.
Thereafter, until my departure on December 4, no more Caribou
were actually seen in the vicinity of the headquarters on Windy
River. There were, however, tracks of single animals on November
15 and 16. Moreover, during the period from about November 7 to
15, while traveling northward to the upper Kazan River, Charles
Schweder saw thousands of Caribou, in herds up to 300, moving
southward. He surmised that their course took them somewhere
between Ennadai and Nueltin lakes. Fred also reported many to
the northward on the 7th, as already noted. This was perhaps the
last large migratory movement of the year in our general area.
Thereafter virtually all of the animals were presumably in the
timbered area to the southward. None was sighted from the plane
during the flight to Churchill on December 4.
On November 7 the temperature had taken a sharp downward turn,
dropping below zero for the first time that season; and it did
not again rise above 6.5° till November 12. This cold spell,
combined with a snow blizzard from the north on the 6th and 7th,
coincided at least in part with the large migratory movement
noted above, and it may have been the stimulus for it.
The general weather conditions that obtained from November 12 on
may be summarized as follows. It was at least predominantly
cloudy on all but four or five days. There was snowfall on six
days, and drifting snow in the air on several other days. The
winds were predominantly north, northwest, and west; less
commonly, east and southeast. They were a little more frequently
light than moderate or brisk. The extremes of temperature during
this period were 22.5° and -23°; the average daily mean,
approximately 1°. There was an average of probably at least 8
inches of snow on the ground, with deeper drifts. The river was
not wholly frozen over at least up to the end of November.
_Retrograde autumnal movement_
It would doubtless be difficult to find, among other animals, any exact
parallel to this curious feature of caribou migration. According to
Charles Schweder, it takes place in the Nueltin Lake region in
September--sometimes as early as the first of the month. Herds up to 200
strong may then be seen moving northward, but generally the numbers are
smaller--say 10 to 30 in a band. Some of the more notable autumnal
movements toward the north, as reported by Charles, were the following:
at Simons' Lake in 1936 and again in 1938, when herds of fat bucks were
streaming past for a month and a half; likewise at Josie's Bay in 1940;
and through the Windy Hills and across Windy River in 1943. Fred
Schweder, Jr., said that most of the animals, in returning northward at
this season, cross Windy River 4 miles above its mouth or Windy Bay 4
miles from its head; comparatively few pass the mouths of Windy and
Little rivers. He remarked further that it is mostly bucks, with few
does and fawns, that make the passage on Windy Bay.
More or less evidence of such a movement toward the north in 1947 has
been presented in preceding pages, in the notes for September 6, 7, 11,
14, 20, 24, and 28, October 1, and even October 23. The numbers observed
so involved on each of these days varied from a solitary buck or a doe
with a fawn to about 300 of the animals. On some of these days, however,
other Caribou were observed making their way toward the south. It is
thus obvious that there was no universal impulse among the Caribou of a
given area to move simultaneously in a certain direction.
The general weather conditions on the nine above-mentioned days may be
summarized as follows. Every day but one was largely or wholly cloudy;
snow falling on three days, but ground bare on other days; wind
predominantly from the north; extreme temperatures, 26° and 61°; mean
daily average, 37.5°. Whether or not there is significance in the
matter, it appears that on those days within the period extending from
September 6 to October 1, when the Caribou were not definitely observed
moving northward, the winds were less likely to be northerly.
Furthermore, within this period there was never enough snow to interfere
appreciably with the animals' feeding on the ground lichens of the
Barrens.
[Illustration: FIG. 1. Half a dozen caribou trails along the
Middle Ridge, looking SE. Ground plants: _Ledum decumbens_,
_Empetrum nigrum_, _Arctostaphylos alpina_, _Loiseleuria
procumbens_, and various lichens, including _Cladonia_. A
miniature "glacier" in the distance. June 24, 1947.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2. Caribou trails on the 50-foot-high Little
River Ridge. _Picea mariana_, _Betula glandulosa_, and _Empetrum
nigrum_. June 19, 1947.]
[Illustration: FIG. 3. A Caribou buck (specimen No. 1065) being
skinned by Fred, Mike, and Rita at the Bear Slough. August 17,
1947.]
[Illustration: FIG. 4. Skull, antlers, skin, and hind quarter of
the same Caribou being transported to camp along the Camp Ridge.
August 17, 1947.]
[Illustration: FIG. 5. Anoteelik and Mike preparing to bring in a
load of caribou meat with dogs and travois. Windy River post,
August 19, 1947.]
[Illustration: FIG. 6. Anoteelik and Mike pegging out caribou
hides to dry on a gravelly ridge near the mouth of Windy River.
August 23, 1947.]
[Illustration: FIG. 7. About 75 Caribou (bucks, does, and fawns)
at a rapid on Little River. August 25, 1947.]
[Illustration: FIG. 8. About 22 Caribou crossing Little River at a
rapid. Chiefly does and fawns, with several bucks bringing up the
rear. August 26, 1947.]
By October 6 there were 6 inches of snow on the ground, and on the
following day 200 Caribou swimming southward across Windy Bay may have
marked the beginning of the final movement into the timbered country. It
appears possible that a considerable fall of snow may have a definite
influence in inducing the Caribou to retreat from the Barrens.
On a trip from Windy River north to the Kazan River region in September,
1946, Charles Schweder found, during the first 45 miles, that the
Caribou were moving north; at the Kazan they were moving south, although
some were merely loitering. Northwest of the Kazan, the animals were
taking a westward course. During the latter part of his return trip to
Windy River, 11 or 12 days later, they had reversed the previous
direction and were traveling south.
For such a distinct and regular feature in the life cycle of the species
as the retrograde autumnal movement there must be some biological
explanation. Several possible factors appear reasonably clear. Perhaps
we may consider the Barren Grounds the true and preferred home of
_Rangifer arcticus_, from which a proportion of the population is driven
during part of the year under stress of insect attacks or shortage of
food. When the animals begin to enter the woods in August, there is no
shortage of food; thus an insect-induced frenzy may possibly be regarded
as a potent force driving them southward. In September a state of
comparative peace descends upon the caribou world: the current crop of
adult insects has subsided; the larvae of warble and nostril flies have
not attained the formidable size of the following spring and perhaps are
not yet causing any severe discomfort; little or no snow covers up the
food supply; the lakes and rivers, still unfrozen, offer a ready way of
escape from pursuing Wolves; moderate or even balmy weather gives nature
a pleasant mood. In short, both man and beast may well look upon early
autumn as the very finest time of year both on the Barrens and in the
adjacent wooded country.
Under these circumstances a definite retrograde movement out of the
wooded country in September on the part of many Caribou must indicate
their preference for the Barrens at this season. In any event, the
movement begins just after the insect menace has subsided to a
negligible stage. Possibly another inducement for retreating from the
wooded country in the early fall is the dearth of open areas in which
the animals may spend their resting periods, in comparative safety from
Wolves. It is only after the freeze-up that the surfaces of the lakes
and rivers supply this desideratum. This condition lasts from November
to June--precisely that part of the year in which the Caribou are
present in the wooded country in the greatest numbers.
But by November what are the conditions on the Barrens? The weather has
become severe; snow has covered up a large part of the ground lichens;
tree lichens are not to be had. And so at this season, with the coming
of the first heavy snows, there is a final movement out of the Barrens
into the shelter of the woods, leaving only a minority of the animals to
face a bleak and bitter winter in the open country. The biggest herds of
the year may then be seen passing southward. A few bucks are said to
remain during most winters in the Windy River area.
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 passed 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; Godman, 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; Kumlien, 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; Stefánsson, 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; Stefánsson, 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; Critchell-Bullock, 1930: 58, 192-196; Hoare, 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 latitude 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 latitude 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 shore 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
Stefánsson, 1913b; Stefánsson, 1913a, 1913b, and 1921; Hewitt,
1921; Jenness, 1922; Rasmussen, 1927; Seton, 1929, +3+;
Blanchet, 1930; Critchell-Bullock, 1930; Hoare, 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 sparser 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 constitute 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 grass (_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
shores 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 shores. Their direction, as
they conform to the winding shores, 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 passage (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.