Monitoring caribou using trail cameras
Parks Canada's report on conservation from 2018 to 2023
- Conservation priority
- Indigenous leadership in conservation
- Location
- Wapusk National Park, Manitoba
Parks Canada, the Manitoba Métis Federation, and the University of Saskatchewan are working together using trail cameras to better understand the dynamics of Eastern Migratory Caribou populations that inhabit Wapusk National Park.
The project takes a collaborative approach, co-developed and cooperatively led with the Manitoba Métis Federation, utilizing Indigenous knowledge and Western science to advance caribou conservation and Indigenous stewardship.
Project highlights
- 92 motion activated trail cameras installed
- 218,899 images collected for analysis
Russell Turner, Ecosystem Scientist (right), and Matthew Van Egmond, Resource Conservation student (left), team up to install wildlife cameras in Wapusk National Park. These cameras help monitor animal populations and inform conservation efforts. Photo: Cameron Deamel/Parks Canada
Context
Recognized globally for its significant biodiversity, Wapusk National Park protects a portion of one of the largest wetland complexes in the world – the Hudson Bay Lowlands, home to an abundance of plant and animal species, including caribou. Caribou are an essential part of the northern Manitoba ecosystem and are vital to northern communities. The species remains interconnected with Indigenous values, beliefs and harvesting practices. Across much of Canada, caribou populations are in decline due to threats from climate change, habitat loss, hunting, and predators.
Working together
In 2020 and 2021, Parks Canada organised the Beyond Borders Caribou Workshop series. The workshops provided a forum for knowledge exchange, creating a space to weave together Western science and Indigenous knowledge systems as equals, co-developing strategies to sustain healthy caribou herds in Northern Manitoba. These workshops brought together Indigenous partners (Cree, Dene, Inuit and Métis), government stakeholders (Environment and Climate Change Canada, Parks Canada, provincial and territorial representatives), academic researchers and local community members. The workshop participants worked together to strengthen relationships, highlight areas of concern, identify knowledge gaps, and outline priority actions for effective caribou monitoring and management.
Outcomes
One outcome of the workshop series was the establishment of the Candid Caribou project, a collaboration between Parks Canada, the Manitoba Métis Federation and the University of Saskatchewan to conduct research on the Cape Churchill caribou herd in Wapusk National Park, and across the greater Wapusk ecosystem.
The partners deployed trail cameras in several distinct habitats throughout Wapusk National Park. The cameras collect data on the seasonal migration of the Cape Churchill caribou herd, helping to determine when caribou use different areas of the park. The images, paired with Indigenous and local knowledge, documented how raised gravel beach ridges are important migration routes for caribou accessing their calving grounds.
“The work we’ve done with caribou via the workshops has resulted in strengthened relationships, increased trust, and a series of actions and recommendations for how Parks Canada can achieve its caribou conservation goals and improve the way it engages Indigenous partners on caribou research and monitoring.”—Russell Turner, Ecosystem Scientist, Parks Canada
Video
Watch Parks Canada ecosystem scientists recover a year's worth of wildlife trail camera photography in Wapusk National Park.
Transcript
Hey there, Russell Turner, Ecosystem Scientist for Wapusk National Park.
Currently chatting with you from Nester One Research Compound, one of four compounds in the park.
Today we're on day four of servicing our caribou trail cameras.
We have a network of 92 trail cameras out on the landscape to document how many caribou there are and where they're going.
This work is a direct result of our Beyond Borders Caribou Workshop where we brought together Indigenous, academic and government agencies to chat about knowledge of caribou in the park, specifically the Cape Churchill caribou herd.
So, we have batteries, new memory cards, some pliers and cutters, but also spare cameras.
So, as we go out and we find a damaged camera, we can replace it, swap out the battery, swap out memory cards, and have all the appropriate gear to collect the right data.
Here we are, part of our caribou study is on beach ridges.
Caribou and other animals use these beach ridges as natural highways.
It's a lot easier to walk along and migrate on a gravel beach ridge than it is walking through the fen and ponds.
We have half the cameras in fen habitats and half the cameras on these beach ridges to document the differences of occurrence on each habitat type.
And that's my ride!
An important part of our safety plan is whenever we're in the park we have a certified bear monitor behind me here like LeeAnn.
She's just keeping an eye out for approaching polar bears and can warn the group when the rest of us have our head down collecting data.
One of the unique things about our study is all of our cameras have to have these metal security boxes because we get a lot of curious bears that like to come up and actually bite the camera or nudge the camera to see what it is.
We also collect vegetation data.
So, we have one-meter quadrants placed on the ground ten metres in front of each camera so we have a little bit of information on the exact vegetation at each site, and here Matthew is behind me taking photos that we can analyze later to figure out what vegetation is around each trail cam.
Super excited to have all those cameras done.
Hope you enjoyed our adventure today servicing all 92 trail cameras and seeing some sights of Wapusk.
We hope to continue these projects for the next three to five years working with our partners such as USask and the Manitoba Métis Federation and to come out and enjoy beautiful days in the park like we have today.
Human activity and climate change threaten caribou numbers through habitat loss, changing food availability and increasing rates of predation, parasites and diseases.
Healthy caribou populations are integral to an overall healthy ecosystem, supporting the social and economic well-being of local communities.
Learn more
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