Ontario Boreal Caribou Monitoring Program
Read the reports on the aerial surveys conducted under the Boreal Caribou Monitoring Program.
Overview
In Ontario, Boreal Caribou is a threatened species that receives protection under the Species Conservation Act, 2025.
In 2022, we launched the Boreal Caribou Monitoring Program to improve our understanding of Boreal Caribou and their habitat in Ontario.
The first year of the program (2023) involved aerial surveys to count and document presence of caribou in four key ranges:
- Brightsand
- Churchill
- Kesagami
- Kinloch
The second year of the program (2024) involved aerial surveys to count and document presence of caribou in two ranges:
- Berens
- Sydney
The third year of the program (2025) involved:
- Aerial surveys to count and document presence of caribou and collect fecal pellets for DNA analysis in the Nipigon Range.
- Aerial surveys to count and document presence of caribou, collect fecal pellets for DNA analysis, and to classify caribou by age and sex in two ranges:
- Spirit
- Swan
- The application of GPS collars to adult female caribou to track their movements and support future survival and recruitment estimates in four ranges:
- Berens
- Churchill
- Kinloch
- Sydney
- Preliminary analysis of caribou count, survival and recruitment data collected through GPS collaring, mortality assessments and aerial recruitment surveys between 2018 and 2024 in two ranges:
- Missisa
- Ozhiski
Reports summarizing these findings are now available. The reports provide:
- context, including about Ontario’s caribou policy framework
- a description of the methodology applied
- the results of the monitoring activities and updated cumulative disturbance estimates for each of the ten ranges covered in the report.
- discussion of the results
These reports will help us take further action to protect and recover Boreal Caribou.
Read the reports
- Ontario Boreal Caribou Monitoring Program 2025 Results (PDF)
- Ontario Boreal Caribou Monitoring Program 2024 Aerial Survey Results (PDF)
- Ontario Boreal Caribou Monitoring Program 2023 Aerial Survey Results (PDF)
Disclaimer
If you require this information in an alternative format, please contact borealcaribouconservation@ontario.ca. We will:
- acknowledge your request within 3 business days
- provide you with the content within 15 business days