Although cows from the Bathurst caribou herd always return to the same general area to calve, the specific area used for calving changes from year to year.  The calving grounds tend to overlap in any two consecutive years, but they gradually shift over time.  Inuit records show that the calving grounds used by the Bathurst caribou in the 1950s were west of Bathurst Inlet.  For almost three decades, between 1960 and 1990, the Bathurst herd calved east of Bathurst Inlet.  Beginning in the late 1980s, the cows gradually shifted west again and were calving back in the same areas used in the 1950s, west of the Bathurst Inlet.  Since then, the cows have been calving between the Hood and Burnside Rivers west of Bathurst Inlet.

After calving, the cows and calves begin their migration south to the summer range.  The route followed depends on which calving area they used.  From the late 1990s until 2003, the route to the summer range generally followed the southeast side of Contwoyto Lake.  As summer progresses, the cows meet up with the bulls and the herd moves across the summer range.   Between July and September, the caribou tend to move south, then west and then northwest, almost in a counter clockwise direction.  Fidelity to the summer range is high with the animals using the same general area year after year.

Caribou distribution during the fall migration varies from year to year.  The fall rut can take place on the barrens northwest of Lac de Gras or within the boreal forest.

The location of the winter range is the most variable of the ranges.  Typically the Bathurst caribou winter southeast of Great Bear Lake toward Great Slave Lake, fairly close to the communities of Wekweti, Wha Ti and Gameti.  In some winters, the Bathurst caribou move farther south into areas near Yellowknife and Lutselk’e.  In the winter of 1997, the Bathurst herd moved even further south and crossed into northern Saskatchewan.  During winter, the range used by the Bathurst herd may overlap with neighbouring barren-ground caribou herds such as the Bluenose east and Beverly herds.

Some community elders say that when caribou pass a camp on their way south from the summer grounds, people should let them pass for a day before beginning the hunt.  They believe that by letting the leaders pass by and hunting from the middle of the herd, the migration of the herd will not be disturbed.  If the lead caribou are killed, the herd may change its migration route.