It’s fall in Nunavut, Canada, and Richard Kakk is hunting caribou. Snow that started in September has placed him in a landscape of white, broken only by the ice-crusted slate blue of the Gulf of Boothia to the west, the patches of exposed black rock in the rolling hills to the east, and the brown splotches of the caribou herd up ahead. Though temperatures are nowhere near the winter lows of -30° Celsius (-22° Fahrenheit), it’s no place to tarry, particularly if a polar bear should show up interested in his kill.
Even so, after Kakk harvests a caribou, the full-time hunter from the community of Kugaaruk stops to take his phone from his bag. With a few taps, he records how many caribou he saw in the herd, how many males and how many females, and whether the herd looked healthy. When he returns home, he’ll upload this information to a database owned wholly by his community. There, Kakk’s data can help guide important management decisions about Nunavut’s diverse wildlife.
https://news-mongabay-com.cdn.amppr...vut-hunters-document-the-changing-arctic/amp/
Even so, after Kakk harvests a caribou, the full-time hunter from the community of Kugaaruk stops to take his phone from his bag. With a few taps, he records how many caribou he saw in the herd, how many males and how many females, and whether the herd looked healthy. When he returns home, he’ll upload this information to a database owned wholly by his community. There, Kakk’s data can help guide important management decisions about Nunavut’s diverse wildlife.
https://news-mongabay-com.cdn.amppr...vut-hunters-document-the-changing-arctic/amp/