NWT 2011-2015 - NWT Species at Risk

4. Data Sources and Methods – How did we rank species?
6.1
Terrestrial
All mammals have fur or body hair, have warm blood,
and feed their young with milk. Terrestrial mammals
are those species that live on land; those that live in the
ocean are grouped together as marine mammals and are
ranked in the next list.
Mammals include some of the species that are most
important to people in the North for food, for making
clothing, tents, boats, and tools, and as a source of income
through the sale of furs, hides, crafts, and meat. Due
to their importance to people and northern ecosystems,
mammals are the most studied species group.
Again in the past five years, some mammal species received
particular attention because of their importance to people
in the traditional economy or as a result of their population
status, or both. For example, caribou continue to be
considered ‘secure’ within the NWT as a species. However,
some sub-species of caribou such as Peary caribou and
boreal woodland caribou remain ranked as “At Risk”. All
herds of barren-ground caribou present in the NWT were
significantly declining five years ago. Some herd numbers
have now stabilised or are showing slow increases, but
numbers remain low. So, barren-ground caribou (Dolphin-
Union and all other herds in the NWT) retained their rank
of ‘sensitive” in this report. Considerable time, effort, and
money continue to be devoted to the study and management
of all types of caribou in the NWT.
In addition to humans, the NWT is currently home to 66
species of terrestrial mammals. Since 2006, three bat
species have been added to the list of NWT mammals. The
northern long-eared myotis was found in Fort Simpson in
2005. Then the big brown bat and the long-legged myotis
were found in 2006 in the Nahanni National Park Reserve.
For the first time, in 2010, a major hibernaculum (where
bats spend the winter in dormant state) was discovered in
18
NWT Species 2011-2015