A vast herd of northern caribou that scientists feared had vanished from the face of the Earth has been found, safe and sound — pretty much where Aboriginal elders said it would be.
The Beverly herd, which roams from northern Saskatchewan to the Arctic coast, once numbered 276,000 animals.
But they failed to show up on their traditional calving grounds in 2009.
Biologists thought the animals had become a chilling example of a general decline in caribou across the North.
A recent study suggests the herd has simply shifted its calving grounds further north.
That surprised scientists who thought caribou always returned to the same spot.
But it didn’t surprise Aboriginal elders who have said all along that caribou move.
Government researchers say they’ll pay closer attention to what local people tell them next time.
(courtesy of The Canadian Press)