Thursday, June 19, 2003

Welcome!

Assessments of the body condition of the Porcupine Caribou Herd have been conducted by Yukon biologists for twelve years.  In the past decade much has been learned about the caribou and the conditions in which they live.  Biologists doing this work have tried to refine the process and find more accurate and less intrusive means to measure body condition.  They most often work with First Nation hunters who go out on the land to harvest caribou for meat.  The hunters have considerable knowledge of the animals and the land and much effort has been made to incorporate this knowledge into management plans for the region.   

This website provides some information about the body condition monitoring and the interactions of the caribou with its environment and humans. 

 - Aedes Scheer

Dawson City, Yukon, Canada

The Components of this Teaching Innovation Project

The Links:

1.  Background Information on the monitoring of the Body Condition of the Porcupine Caribou.  What is involved, how it has been done, how is it done now, what is collected, who participates in the programme? 

 

2.  Caribou Physiology.  What is it that makes these animals so suited to their environment?  What are the challenges they face? 

 

3.  The Environment.  What is the range of the caribou?  What is the climate like?  How much does their environment change as they migrate?

 

4.  Humans and Caribou. 

a.  An introduction to cultural considerations and Traditional Knowledge of the indigenous people who rely on the animals.

b.  How is body condition assessed in humans?

c.  How well suited are humans to life in cold climates?

5.  And finally References are listed for each section.  These can be used as sources of further reading and research.

For Students:

Specific assignments have been created for students and are available at this link:  Student Assignments.

For Instructors:

A guide for instructors is available at this link:  Guidelines for Instructors

 

About the pictures:

If you pause your mouse cursor over the photograph, a label will appear providing information on the individual picture.  Aedes Scheer took all the photographs except those of the 40 Mile Caribou, which were taken by Marcia Jordan. 

 

 

Special Thanks:

• Grant Dunham, Community and Extension Services, Yukon College, Whitehorse. (for all his assistance with this website!)
• Dorothy Cooley, Dept of Environment, Yukon Government, Dawson City
• Don Russell, Canadian Wildlife Service, Whitehorse
• MLFSC mentors: Dr. Dale Bottrell, Dr. Brett Kent, Dr. Paul Mazzocchi, University of Maryland
• Dr. Susan Kutz, WCVM Dept of Microbiology, Saskatoon
• Porcupine Caribou Management Board
• Tetlit Gwichen Renewable Resources Council
• Dawson District Renewable Resources Council
• The gang at the Eagle Plains Lodge.
• and my husband, Norm.