 |
Bathurst Caribou
Population
Since
the 1970s, biologists have used various methods to estimate the number of
caribou in a herd. By the early
1980s, survey methods were standardized to help biologists count caribou in the
most efficient and accurate way possible. Now,
most surveys use aerial photography
either during or after calving.
The
number of animals in a caribou herd naturally fluctuates over a 40-60 year
cycle. Dogrib elders report that
caribou were abundant in 1940, then scarce in the mid-1950s. In 1986, the
Bathurst herd reached the highest numbers ever surveyed. By 2003, the herd had
declined to about half the size reached in 1986.
Year
|
Population
|
Standard Error (+/-)
|
Survey
method
|
|
1970
|
259
000
|
|
Visual
|
|
1971
|
244
000
|
|
Visual
|
|
1974
|
251
000
|
|
Visual
|
|
1977
|
160
000
|
|
Visual
|
|
1978
|
127
000
|
|
Visual
|
|
1979
|
110
000
|
|
Visual
|
|
1980
|
140
000
|
|
Photographic
|
|
1982
|
174
000
|
|
Photographic
|
|
1984
|
384
000
|
65
000
|
Photographic
|
|
1986
|
472
000
|
72
900
|
Photographic
|
|
1990
|
352
000
|
77
800
|
Photographic
|
|
1996
|
349
000
|
94
900
|
Photographic
|
|
2003
|
186 000
|
40 000
|
Photographic
|
|
2006
|
128,000
|
27,300 |
Photographic
|
|
