Talk:Migratory woodland caribou

Original migratory woodland caribou article concerned only two herds of caribou in Northern Quebec and Labrador
The original 7 November 2005 article was about two herds in Nunavik, Quebec and Labrador, the Leaf Herd and the George River herd which came into the attention of the country when thousands of the George River herd were drowned when the Caniapiscau River flooded in September 1984. So this article is about two herds of North American caribou which represent a unique ecotype of the subspecies Rangifer tarandus caribou that are both migrating and woodland.Oceanflynn (talk) 18:45, 14 September 2014 (UTC)

== Problems with taxonomy in the research community: George River herd, behaves like subspecies Barren-ground R. t. groenlandicus but is subspecies Woodland caribou Rangifer tarandus caribou (1961) ==

The taxonomy box is the one used in the article Reindeer Rangifer tarandus, a circumpolar species, known as reindeer in Europe and Eurasia and locally known as Caribou (North America) in North America. The species Rangifer tarandus is further divided into subspecies, ecotypes, herds and populations. Caribou (North America) now includes four living subspecies Barren-Ground caribou R. t. groenlandicus, Porcupine caribou R. t. granti, Pearyi caribou R. t. pearyi and Rangifer tarandus caribou which does not have its own Wikipedia article.Oceanflynn (talk) 18:44, 14 September 2014 (UTC)

A large part of the problem in defining the topic of this article is uncertainty in the academic community about categories and subdivisions of caribou, particularly in Nunavik regarding the George River herd. This herd belongs to the Rangifer tarandus caribou "morphologically and genetically" They migrant from boreal forest to open tundra covering vast distances and behave like the Barren-ground caribou R. t. groenlandicus subspecies. Scientists argue that the taxonomic relationships (liked those defined in 1961 categorizing all caribou in Quebec (including what is now Nunavik) as woodland caribou, is less useful and important than "understanding ecotype in relation to existing ecological constraints and releases."

Ecotypes
The subspecies Rangifer tarandus caribou is further subdivided into ecotypes:
 * woodland (boreal) Boreal woodland caribou
 * woodland (migratory) Migratory woodland caribou
 * woodland (montane)Oceanflynn (talk) 18:45, 14 September 2014 (UTC)

Populations
Rangifer tarandus caribou COSEWIC (2002) further divided the forest-dwelling Woodland Caribouinto six geographically distinct populationsOceanflynn (talk) 18:45, 14 September 2014 (UTC)


 * 1) Northern Mountain population (special concern)
 * 2) Southern Mountain population (threatened)
 * 3) Boreal population (threatened)
 * 4) Forest-tundra population (not assessed)
 * 5) Atlantic-Gaspésie population (endangered)
 * 6) the insular Newfoundland population (not at risk). Oceanflynn (talk) 18:44, 14 September 2014 (UTC)
 * 1) the insular Newfoundland population (not at risk). Oceanflynn (talk) 18:44, 14 September 2014 (UTC)

Herds
Leaf Herd and the George River herd are two of the larger caribou herds in North America.

A history of the article Migratory Woodland caribou
"The migratory woodland caribou (in French, caribou des bois) of Northern Quebec and Labrador live in two wild herds, the Leaf herd with 628,000 individuals and the George River herd with 385,000 individuals (population estimates of 2001). The caribou generally travel upwards of 2,000 km annually and live in an area of about 1,000,000 square kilometres. Some individuals have been observed traveling 6,000 km in a single year."
 * 7 November 2005 Joseph A created page with this lede

based on these references and external sources which were all in French. *


 * 23 December 2005 Joseph A added the taxonomy box from Reindeer article. He used the same image used since 2003 in the reindeer article [[image:Caribou.jpg|325px]] with file name "Caribou.jpg" This amazing photo was taken by Dean Biggins, an employee of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee in Alaska, is in the public domain. According to Wikimedia it has been used 100 times. It is a mature male Porcupine caribou R. t. granti from Alaska although it has been used without proper captioning in many places and without respect to geography. using the image of but did not include any mention of ecotypes, herds or populations. This photo of the subspecies R. t. granti was highlighted in Reindeer hunting in Greenland.


 * I began erroneously adding content with inline citations regarding the entire subspecies Rangifer tarandus caribou including the more sedentary ecotypes, herds and populations. This was a mistake and I will be removing that content to other more appropriate articles such as caribou or Boreal woodland caribou.Oceanflynn (talk) 19:04, 14 September 2014 (UTC)

User talk 2008

 * 23 March 2008 A User added, "I am of the understanding that the caribou in Quebec/Labrador are the Barren Ground?"12.149.245.251 (talk) 00:44, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Migratory woodland caribou: Barren-ground caribou or Woodland caribou?
Are the caribou herds in this article Barren-ground caribou R. t. groenlandicus or Woodland caribou Rangifer tarandus caribou


 * I am of the understanding that the caribou in Quebec/Labrador are the Barren Ground?12.149.245.251 (talk) 00:44, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

1984: George Herd caribou drowning
A few sources:
 * Time Magazine Environment: Mass Death at Two River Crossings. Monday, Oct. 15, 1984
 * Sports Illustrated. The Torrent Of Death. October 15, 1984. Robert Sullivan
 * Considerations relating to the drowning in the Caniapiscau River in September 1984 of caribous [sic] of the George River herd (excerpts)  /   Québec (Province). Ministère du loisir, de la chasse et de la pêche
 * THE INTRINSIC DIFFICULTY OF PREDICTING IMPACTS: LESSONS FROM THE JAMES BAY HYDRO PROJECT (ENVIRON IMPACT ASSESS REV 1988;8:201-220) contains a section "The Caribou Drowning Incident"
 * Who killed 10,000 caribou?  /   Williams, T. (Nature Canada, v. 14, no. 4, Fall 1985, p. 43-49, ill.)  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.19.237.117 (talk) 19:59, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

It looks like the best sources are already listed on the page, but are in French: --Duesouthfan (talk) 19:21, 10 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Government of Quebec, Ministère du Loisir, de la Chasse et de la Pêche (Department of Recreation, Fish and Game). 1985. Considérations relatives à la noyade de caribous du fleuve George sur la rivière Caniapiscau (septembre 1984), Quebec City: MLCP, xvi+100p. (+appendices).
 * Government of Quebec, Secrétariat des activités gouvernementales en milieu amérindien et inuit (SIGMAI). 1985. Noyade des caribous sur la rivière Caniapiscau des 28 et 29 septembre 1984, Quebec City: SAGMAI, 14p. (+appendices).

Caribou disappearance in Ontario
While the article talks much about parasite infection from favoured moose and whitetail, it may not explain enough the primary reason why habitat fragmentation affects Caribou. The cutlines of forestry (and oil/gas development in the west boreal forests of Canada) cause new growth forest which favours moose and deer - which in turn causes population spikes of wolves. Wolves are not a natural predator to Caribou, but are opportunistic such that in areas of new growth where moose and deer thrive, wolves will also hunt into old growth where Caribou reside.

I may also be useful to further explain why Woodland caribou are obligate residents of large mature stands - their feeding habits are largely lichen. I'd like to add this to the article, but will await criticism from the article originator. Fourloves 17:38, 6 November 2011 (UTC)

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External links modified (January 2018)
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Fixing a section
The first sentence in Distribution and abundance of caribou in Quebec is missing its first half and needs to be fixed.Malcolmlucascollins (talk) 02:57, 19 July 2018 (UTC)