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CELPIP Practice Reading: Reading for Information ID: #63078 Medium Caribou herds: Arctic routes and tracking

Read the following passage.

A. Barren-ground caribou are the most abundant and widespread kind of caribou in the Northwest Territories, and about half of all caribou in Canada belong to this group. They are members of the deer family, but unlike other deer, both males and females grow antlers. Most of them live in large herds that move each year between the open tundra and the sparse forests to the south. Each herd usually takes its name from a landscape feature near its calving area; the Bathurst herd, for example, is named for Bathurst Inlet.

B. The spring journey begins in March and April, when the herds leave their wintering areas and head north. Pregnant females lead the way, while males and young animals lag behind and stop short of the calving grounds, which can lie as far as 700 kilometres away. On the way the animals tend to follow frozen lakes and rivers, open uplands and eskers, the long narrow ridges of soil and rock left by glaciers. Most calves are born within a few days of each other in the first two weeks of June. In summer, caribou gather in dense groups of tens of thousands to reduce harassment by mosquitoes and flies.

C. Since 1996 the Government of the Northwest Territories has tracked herd movements with satellite collars. Caribou are caught with a net fired from a helicopter, and within 15 minutes each animal is collared and released, with no drugs used. Every collar stores GPS locations through the day and sends them by satellite, and a built-in release lets it drop off later so that it can be picked up and used again. Herd sizes are estimated every two to three years, often from photographs taken from aircraft over the calving grounds. Indigenous governments and community monitors help with these surveys.

D. Many herds peaked between the mid-1980s and the 1990s and have declined since. The Bathurst herd fell from roughly 470,000 animals in the mid-1980s to 3,609 in the 2025 survey. No hunting of Bathurst caribou is allowed in the territory, and since 2015 a mobile zone that shifts with the herd has shown where caribou cannot be taken. Because wolves are the main predator of these caribou, a program in the North Slave region from 2019 to 2024 offered higher incentives for wolves taken on the winter ranges of two herds. Some herds are recovering: the Cape Bathurst herd, down to 2,400 animals in 2012, was estimated at around 8,500 in 2025.

E. Not given in any of the above paragraphs.

Decide which paragraph, A to D, has the information given in each statement below. Select E if the information is not given in any of the paragraphs.

 - 1. The devices worn by the animals come loose on their own and are later collected for reuse.

 - 2. Caribou that are about to give birth travel at the front when the animals move north in spring.

 - 3. The federal government paid for the program that rewarded people for killing animals that prey on caribou.

 - 4. Most of the young come into the world within days of one another in early summer.

 - 5. A herd is usually named after a nearby landmark at its birthing site.

 - 6. Herd numbers are often worked out from aerial photos of the birthing areas.

 - 7. Hunters are not permitted to take any animals from one herd that has shrunk sharply.

 - 8. Cape Bathurst is now the largest caribou herd in the North.

 - 9. In the warm months, the animals pack together in huge numbers to cope with insects.

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