CARIBOU Meanwhile, in 2011, there were an estimated 16,000 eastern migratory caribou in the province. According to the Government of Ontario website, this type of caribou “typically uses tundra and forest-tundra transitional areas along the Hudson Bay coast during the spring and summer periods, and they move south to boreal forest habitat in the fall and winter, although individuals can be found in all habitat types at all times of year.” Canada-wide, researchers estimate the eastern migratory caribou numbered at 1.1 million at its peak, but now estimate the population to be 225,000. Boreal caribou are estimated to be 33,000 (no peak estimates were provided for the boreal). Lillian Trapper said caribou pass through her family’s camp, located south of her home community of Moose Cree the northernmost community in Ontario and near the Manitoba border. According to his father and Elders, Miles said the high number of caribou is relatively new to their traditional territory. They began to emerge in bigger numbers about 40 years ago. Nowadays, local hunters go upriver, some 75 kilometres south of the community along the Severn River, to hunt caribou. “We usually catch them going west,” Miles said. “For the past five years, it’s been good. It all depends on where they go, how well the muskeg is frozen.” “A lot of the migration routes still tend to be the same, but it does vary year to year,” he said, adding he does feel climate change will impact those routes. “So they won’t eat all their food. They’re always on the move.” First Nation, which is on the southern tip of James Bay. But caribou are not as actively hunted like communities in the Arctic, she said. Cree communities on the James and Hudson Bay coasts instead rely heavily on Canada geese, moose and fish. “The way it was said to me, we don’t hunt caribou, but they present them- selves,” she said. “They’re mysterious and they’re shy. It was a blessing, a gift that was offered.” Caribou tend to be scattered and seen in smaller groups, at least compared to the vast herds of the barren-ground caribou. Angus Miles of Fort Severn First Nation noted as such, though he remem- bers seeing a herd of thousands back in 1995 not far from the community. “They scattered eventually,” he said. Situated by Hudson Bay, Fort Severn is " caribou Thunder Bay ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/species-risk Geographic Features " Community International Boundary Waterbody Provincial Boundary Caribou Range Boundary (Continuous Distribution) Ontario has researched historical documentation of woodland caribou and assembled recent survey information. These efforts have been summarized here in the form of occupancy, which is represented by the most recent record of caribou within 100 km 2 hexagon grid cells. Temporal information like this aids biologists in tracking changes in occurrence and connectivity of populations, as well as monitoring recovery within the continuous and discontinuous caribou distributions. Occupancy, as it is represented here, does not portray the abundance of caribou across the landscape, nor does it show the quality or quantity of caribou habitat. Additionally, the absence of an observation does not mean caribou are not or were not present. Discontinuous Distribution Disclaimer: This map is illustrative only. This map should not be relied on as a precise indicator of routes or locations, nor as a guide to navigation. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) shall not be liable in any way for the use of, or reliance upon, this map or any information on this map. Sources: Thematic Data: Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Base Data: LIO (Land Information Ontario) Projection: Lambert Conformal Conic Datum: North American Datum 1983 © Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2015 Published in January 2015 Map Reference: COCBU0011 Ontario 2015 Caribou Range Occupancy in Ontario A ITO B M AN MINNESOTA QU EB EC L A K E S U P E R I O R CAN U. A S D . A A. 0 100 200 50 conservation plan Kilometers Missisa N Caribou Occupancy by Decade 2010 - present 2000 - 2009 1990 - 1999 1980 - 1989 Pre 1980s Unknown Discontinuous Distribution Swan Spirit Ozhiski James Berens Bay Kinloch Sydney Churchill Nipigon Brightsand Pagwachuan Kesagami Lake Superior Coast www.ontario.ca/page/caribou-boreal-population SUMMER/WINTER 2018/19 – Chiefs of Ontario Advocate magazine   58  l