Greenland

Barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) and muskox (Ovibus moschatus wardi) are the two ungulates native to Greenland. Caribou are distributed along the West coast while muskox natural ranges are on the East and Northern parts of Greenland. After a series of translocations of muskox, domesticated reindeer and livestock in the West and South-West, the native Greenlandic caribou now co-habit locally with other populations of ungulates. Historically, sub-species of caribou also inhabited the East coast but are extinct today. Hunting management areas extend primarily along the West coast where most Inuit communities are found. Caribou, and now muskox, are central resources for local people subsistence, culture and tradition.

Although barren-ground caribou have largely fluctuated in the past, they are currently present at high densities with ~129,000 caribou (~2.6-4.2 caribou/km2) in the three largest management areas combined (Kangerlussuaq-Sisimiut, Akia-Maniistsoq and Ameralik, Cuyler et al, 2021, 2023a, 2023b). The first translocated population of muskox to Kangerlussuaq in 1963-1965 forms today the largest West Greenland population with ~19,000 individuals (~2.7 muskox/km2, Maniitsoq population, Cuyler et al. 2022). Both species are highly sedentary and co-exist year-round.

How caribou and muskox share their space use and what is their impact on the vegetation, which in turns influence differently their movements and fitness, is at the core of the ongoing research in Greenland. Other research includes effects of environmental variables and harvest on population dynamics as well as the role of large herbivores on ecosystem functions. Different methodologies are used, including telemetry, distance sampling, remote sensing, harvest reports, population genetics and experimental manipulations of tundra ecosystems. Long-term knowledge of climate drivers on muskox movements and population dynamics primarily comes from Zackenberg in Northeast Greenland, while harvest-related research primarily comes from central/Southwest Greenland including both natural and social sciences.

Contact:

Mathilde Le Moullec, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, malm@natur.gl

Niels Martin Schmidt, Aarhus University, nms@ecos.au.dk

Read more here (Danish, Kalaallisut, English):

https://natur.gl/leksikon/landpattedyr/

https://natur.gl/leksikon/miluumasut-nunamiutat/?lang=kl

https://natur.gl/leksikon/land-animals/?lang=en

https://g-e-m.dk/

References:

Cuyler et al. (2021). 2018 status Kangerlussuaq-Sisimiut caribou, West Greenland. Pinngortitaleriffik – Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. Technical Report No. 117. 79 pp.

Cuyler et al. (2022). 2018 status muskoxen, Maniitsoq & Sisimiut, West Greenland. Pinngortitaleriffik –Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. Technical Report No. 119. 113 pp.

Cuyler et al. (2023a). 2019 Status of Akia-Maniitsoq caribou population, Central region, West Greenland. Pinngortitaleriffik – Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. Technical Report No. 124. 93 pp

Cuyler et al. (2023b). 2019 Status of Ameralik caribou population, South region, West Greenland. Pinngortitaleriffik – Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. Technical Report No. 125. 109 pp.

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