Movements and activity of Caribou, Rangifer tarandus caribou, of the Torngat Mountains, northern Labrador and Quebec

Abstract

We used satellite telemetry to study the movements, space use, and activity patterns of adult female Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) of the Torngat Mountains in northern Labrador and Quebec. These Caribou exhibited seasonal cycles of activity with highest levels during summer (late June to late September) and lowest levels during pre-calving and calving (early May to late June). Caribou were migratory. In most instances, during calving and summer they resided in the vicinity of the Torngat Mountains; during autumn, they moved west into the forest-tundra of the western drainage of the Mountains; during winter, Caribou remained along the coastal plain of eastern Ungava Bay, or, in some cases, along the Labrador coast. Our results confirm that Torngat Mountain Caribou, although occasionally intermingling with the larger George River herd, represent a population spatially distinct from others in the Ungava.