Description

Bathurst caribou are named for Bathurst Inlet, the general area of the herd’s traditional calving grounds.

• FACT SHEET: Bathurst Caribou

Bathurst Caribou

Habitat

The Bathurst caribou range (or use of habitat) extends from southern and central Northwest Territories (NWT) to the Bathurst Inlet in Nunavut. In some years, they have wintered as far south as northern Saskatchewan.

Population

The Bathurst caribou herd has suffered a dramatic decline in numbers from a high of roughly 470,000 in the mid-1980s to a low of about 3,609.

• See Population Surveys

Population surveys since 2003 indicate a rapid decline in the population size.

2003               186,000 animals

2006               128,000 animals

2009                32,000 animals

2012                35,000 animals

2015                20,000 animals

2018                8,200 animals

2021                6,240 animals

2022                6,851 animals

2025                3,609 animals  

Recovery and Conservation Actions

Monitoring and co-management of the Bathurst herd is shared by the governments of NWT, Nunavut and Saskatchewan, the Wek’èezhìı Renewable Resources Board, the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, and the Bathurst Caribou Advisory Committee.

The 2021 Bathurst Caribou Management Plan guides the monitoring and management of this herd in the NWT. The Bathurst Caribou Range Plan provides guidance for the management of cumulative impacts on the Bathurst herd’s range.

The Bathurst herd remains at critical low status. This means strong management actions need to remain in place to support recovery.

• There is no harvest of Bathurst caribou allowed in the NWT. A Mobile Core Bathurst Caribou Management Zone (Mobile Zone)was put in place in 2015 to protect the herd. 
• View the latest map showing where caribou cannot be harvested to protect the Bathurst herd – known as the Mobile Zone
• Indigenous-led guardianship programs monitor the herd’s health and harvest levels.
  • Learn more:
    • Tłı̨chǫ Government Ekwǫ̀ Nàxoède K’è caribou monitoring program
    • Yellowknives Dene First Nation wildlife management
    • North Slave Metis Alliance Environment Department
• Efforts to promote safe and respectful harvesting practices are ongoing in collaboration with Indigenous governments and organizations and guardianship programs. This includes regular enforcement patrols by ground and air in the Mobile Zone and along the winter road.
  • Read more:
    • GNWT and Indigenous leaders call for respectful harvesting amid rising caribou wastage
• Population surveys are completed every 2-3 years to reassess herd status and health, and GPS collars are used to monitor caribou throughout the year.