Porcupine Caribou Herd Count Proves Population is Strong

Thursday, 4 January 2018 08:24

Yukon and Alaska conducted count last July. Most animals photographed were in ANWR.

The Yukon government says the latest population estimate shows the Porcupine caribou herd has increased in size.

It says it worked with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game last July on the count that estimated the herd at 218 thousand caribou -- up from 198 thousand in the last count in 2013.

It says the herd has grown at a rate of 3.7 per cent a year since the 2010 estimate of 169 thousand, and most of the herd photographed in the recent count were located in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

Yukon Environment Minister Pauline Frost says the strong count shows what collaborative management involving state, territorial, First Nations and federal partners can achieve over time and the challenge is to continue working on conservation of what she calls the “iconic herd."

(Canadian Press)

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