Fauna Series No. 5

Fauna of the National Parks — No. 5 The Wolves of Mount McKinley

CHAPTER FOUR:
CARIBOU (continued)

Movements of Mount McKinley National Park Caribou (continued)

1939 MOVEMENTS

I observed the caribou movements in 1939, 1940, and 1941 so can describe them in more detail than was possible for the earlier years. In 1939 the estimated 2,000 caribou wintering between Savage and Sanctuary Rivers had moved north early in April. South of Wonder Lake many caribou were calving in May. Small bunches moved eastward so that in late May and early June a few scattered animals were encountered as far east as Sanctuary and Teklanika Rivers. The main bands remained in the vicinity of the calving grounds for a few weeks The first large bands moving eastward were seen in Sable Pass on June 12. A thousand caribou, mainly cows and calves, were observed. They were moving along steadily. On June 13 one band in Sable Pass contained 800 adults and about 400 calves. Between the north side of Cathedral Mountain and Teklanika River about 800 cows and calves were seen moving south. They had come through passes north of Sable Pass. On June 14 about 1,500 of them were seen in Sable Pass and north of the road along the Toklat River. On June 16 about 3,500 were seen at the Teklanika Forks. These were traveling in bands of from 100 to 250 which consisted mainly of cows and calves with a few bulls. Another 700 were seen traveling along the base of Double Mountain, making a total of 4,200 caribou for the day.

On June 17 about 2,000 were seen at Teklanika Forks; on the 18th about 500; and on the 19th about 400. These caribou were traveling steadily. All the bands seemed to go 6 or 7 miles up the west branch of Teklanika River to the glaciers, back to the Forks and up the east branch and back to Double Mountain, where they crossed to Sanctuary River. On June 20, 200 were seen on Cathedral Mountain, 100 on Teklanika River, and 400 on Toklat River above the road. By June 22 the main herds of cows and calves and some bulls had passed eastward to Sanctuary River, up which they traveled, presumably crossing to the south slope of the Alaska Range. A trapper told me that for several seasons large bands of caribou had come in June to the Chulitna River on the south side of the Alaska Range and disappeared after spending about 2 weeks there. That information is in harmony with the data on migration as observed in the park, for after the caribou have gone east they soon are seen returning and going west.

Apparently the herds made up mainly of bulls, and a few herds of cows, did not make the long migration up Sanctuary River. On June 24 more than 1,000 caribou, mainly old and young bulls, were reported on McKinley Fork bar going west. On June 25 a band of 48, mainly bulls, was noted at Copper River bar, and at Stony Creek 45, mainly bulls, were traveling west. On June 27, on Sable Pass, a band of 50 bulls and another of 60 cows and calves were moving west. On June 30 about 500, mainly bulls, came up Teklanika River. It appeared that some hands consisting largely of bulls had moved eastward near the north boundary, most of them going only to Teklanika River, then had circled south toward Sable Pass and upper East Fork River, and then had turned west again. On July 2 about 2,700 caribou, including many calves, were seen on Copper River bar. I do not know where these caribou came from but it seemed likely that they had gone up Sanctuary River and recrossed the Alaska Range on the upper Toklat River or at some other place along the Range, possibly Anderson Pass. Most of these seemed to have recrossed the Range between Toklat River and Anderson Pass since few were seen east of Toklat River in the westward migration.

A few small bands were seen dribbling westward in early July, and on July 13 a band of 800 was seen at Toklat River going west. On July 16 a band of 149 and another of 125 were on Sable Pass moving west. A large band was seen on Stony Creek. After this date only a few odd animals were seen. The caribou remained scarce east of Wonder Lake up to the middle of October, when I made my last observations that year.

1940 MOVEMENTS

In the winter of 1939—40 caribou were scarce in the park, at least between Park Headquarters and Wonder Lake. No data are available on where they wintered but presumably it was to the west, possibly in the Lake Minchumina region.

On May 6 at McKinley Fork near the highway about 100 caribou were seen and many tracks showed that some had come down on McKinley Fork bar from the west. On May 9 a number of caribou were noted on the bar just south of Teklanika River Canyon. They were coming over the mountain from the Sushana watershed to the northwest. From the top of the mountain to the bar there was a line of caribou coming down the steep slope. When I was forced to leave, the caribou were still streaming over the top of the mountain. In the afternoon when I returned they were spread out over the tundra between Teklanika and Sanctuary Rivers and moving south. I do not know how many there were in the herd. They apparently continued to pass this point for several days.

On May 11 a band of 100 was moving east on Sable Pass. Between May 9 and the last of the month there were several hundred between Teklanika and Savage Rivers. They kept moving southward. Large bands moved up the Teklanika River and Igloo Creek and went west over Sable Pass. Many of these animals seemed to have come from the north boundary in the general region of the Sushana and Teklanika Rivers and moved south to Sable Pass, then traveled westward. Others went up Sanctuary River and perhaps crossed the Alaska Range before traveling westward.

From May 29 to July 2 about 12,000 adult caribou were seen traveling west between Sable Pass and Toklat River. Some which came from upper Sanctuary River no doubt included those that had come into the Teklanika River region on May 9 and later. Others came up the Teklanika from the north and turned west at Sable Pass and at passes to the north of Sable. Some came up East Fork River from the north and turned west just south of the highway. During July and August very few caribou were seen. In September the caribou reappeared in the Wonder Lake region. On September 6, I saw about 500 near Wonder Lake and about 500 on McKinley River bars. There were large herds north of Wonder Lake in the Kantishna region at this time. In October many of them worked east along the north boundary, almost to the railroad.

During the winter of 1940—41, beginning in October, many caribou were found on both sides of the north boundary of the park. One trapper said the caribou had come to Lignite and to Dry Creek near the railroad on the north boundary. Lee Swisher, trapping on the Teklanika and Sushana Rivers, estimated four or five thousand caribou wintering in that region. In traveling along the north boundary from Savage River to Wonder Lake in January I saw many caribou tracks on both sides of the boundary. On the return trip, no caribou sign was noted between Mile 70 and Mile 27 on the highway. A few were found between Savage and Sanctuary Rivers along the highway.

1941 MOVEMENTS

During March and April bands totaling two and three hundred caribou were seen near the road at Savage River, but early in May few remained.

On May 14 large bands of caribou came into Sanctuary River Valley from the northwest. A ranger reported seeing 2,000 that day. The following day I saw but 600 in the same locality, indicating that they were moving southward. On May 18 there were about 1,000 animals east of Savage River and south of the road. On May 28, on the rolling hills between Savage and Sanctuary Rivers south of the road, there were about 6,000 adult caribou and 3,000 calves. During the next 2 or 3 days they kept moving southward up Sanctuary River Valley. On June 3 about 350 were seen, mainly far up Sanctuary. After that only scattered ones were seen between Savage and Sanctuary Rivers.

On June 4 about 250 caribou in small bands of a dozen or less traveled to Copper River bar from the north. These caribou were mainly old and young bulls and yearlings; no calves were among them. On June 5 a band of 150 cows with calves was traveling south along Igloo Creek, coming up from Teklanika River. Between June 6 and June 9, small bands of bulls were seen between Sable Pass and Mile 74. They seemed to be dribbling in from the north, probably coming from the region along the north boundary. On June 9 a band of 60 cows and 10 calves was seen on Stony Creek traveling east and two other bands of cows at Mile 69 and Mile 40 were going east. At this time all bulls were traveling west.

Between June 10 and June 26 few caribou were seen. But on the evening of June 27 a party reported seeing a band of 4,000 on Stony Creek traveling west. The following day I saw about 4,000 adult caribou at Mile 70, about 1,000 on Copper River bar, 600 at Stony Creek, 700 at Toklat River, and 200 others along the way. The adults were largely cows. Usually the calves were not counted because when the caribou are traveling in big bands or lying down in the distance it is difficult to count the calves. Samples were counted which indicated that about half the cows were followed by calves. There were approximately 6,500 adult caribou and perhaps about 3,000 calves. These animals were traveling hurriedly. On June 29 I counted about 3,000 adults. In these bands there were probably from 1,000 to 1,500 calves. On June 30 I saw a band of about 2,000 adults and perhaps 1,000 calves, and other bands totaling 1,750 adults and 800 calves. On July 1, I saw a total of 875 adults and 400 calves. On July 2 about 560 adults and 200 calves were counted. I was unable to count caribou from July 3 to 5 because of floods washing out and blocking the roads. Only a few were seen on the 6th; 70 were seen on the 7th. Apparently the main run had lasted about 5 days. Between July 3 and July 22 very few were seen. Then on July 24 about 1,500 were seen going north from McKinley Bar toward the north boundary. Those that had gone west were now moving back east a short distance, thence northward. My observations were discontinued August 4.

Trails

Wherever the caribou migrate they leave many parallel trails, for the large herds often travel on a broad front. In some places there may be a hundred or more trails only 2 or 3 feet apart. Not nearly all the trails are used each year and they may be in disuse for a period of years. Most trails in Mount McKinley National Park lead east and west along the migration route but many also follow the rivers in a north-and-south direction. The trails tend to follow the contours, but in many places they ascend and descend steep slopes, and may go over mountains.

Continued >>>

Last Modified: Thurs, Dec 20 2001 10:00:00 pm PDT
http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/fauna5/fauna4b.htm