Latest data shows 'significant increase' in Beverly caribou herd

This week, northerners got some rare good news about caribou.

The most recent data on the Beverly herd has added 50,000 animals since it was last measured, a "statistically significant increase" in its population.

According to the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board, a population survey conducted in 2023 and published earlier this year estimated there are now 153,000 animals in the Beverly herd — up from 103,000 animals in 2017, just five years earlier.

In an announcement earlier this week, the board called it a "statistically significant increase" in population.

Earl Evans, the chair of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board, said it was "really good information."

The Beverly herd had previously been in decline since the 90s.

"It's actually quite surprising to see a herd come back that quick, in that short a period of time," he told CBC.

The population survey of the Beverly herd was done by biologists with the Nunavut government and was presented to the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board at a meeting earlier this month.

Evans said it's especially encouraging to the population increase because they know the herd, whose habitat includes the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road, is commonly hunted in the Northwest Territories.

Evans said the increasing population of the herd is likely due to a combination of factors, including natural cycling in populations and mixing with other herds.

But he thinks the biggest factor may be the herd's habitat, which he says provides "good forage, good range for them, and not too much disturbance."

"They seem to be wintering further and further away from any development," Evans said.

"If you look at the collaring data there, a lot of their activities are away from any major development and stuff, so I think that kind of provides some protection for them."

Qamanirjuaq herd doing 'pretty good' despite decline

The Qamanirjuaq caribou herd, Evans said, is also doing "pretty good", despite still being in decline.

The most recent survey of the herd, in 2022, estimated there were 253,000 animals, down from 288,000 animals in 2017. The management board describes it as a pattern of "slow decline."

But Evans said there are many hopeful signs.

The Qamanirjuaq caribou are generally healthy, Evans said, and the herd still has a good pregnancy and calving rate.

Overall, he says he is hopeful about the future of both herds, but emphasized there is still a lot of work to do, especially to ensure that the habitats of both herds are protected from development as much as possible.