Wildlife

What Arctic wildlife lacks in diversification, it makes up for in numbers. The Leaf River caribou herd, which comprises hundreds of thousands of head, makes the Parc national des Pingualuit its home for a portion of each year, from May to July. Fall and spring migrations of countless flocks of Canada and snow geese also make these seasons an exciting time. Other wildlife in the park is scattered. Wolves, foxes, snowy owls and arctic hare are present, but wary of visitors. Although the coast of the Hudson Strait is the natural habitat of the polar bear, individuals may sometimes be encountered inland.

In the Arctic, predators’ reliance on a limited number of species for subsistence makes them especially vulnerable to environmental change. Lemmings, for example, are a species of prey near the bottom of the arctic food chain. For reasons still poorly understood, the lemming population is subject to major fluctuations. Within a multi-year cycle, their numbers grow… and then crash close to extinction. Whenever these rodents are scarce, snowy owl and fox populations also decline significantly.

Lake trout and land-locked arctic char are the most common fish in the lakes of the park. Although the growth rate of these species at this northerly latitude is slow, large individuals are not unusual. Fished traditionally by harpoon and net, arctic char and lake trout are an important food source for Inuit, and may be eaten raw, frozen, dried, smoked and cooked. Visitors too may decide to fish in the lakes of the park; with the proper licences, both catch-and-release and on-site consumption sport fishing are permitted.

It is very important to note that, while hunting and trapping are formally prohibited in all the national parks of Québec, the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement (JBNQA) and the Act respecting Hunting and Fishing Rights in the James Bay and New Québec Territories guarantee JBNQA-beneficiaries (Inuit) the right to practise their subsistence harvesting activities throughout Nunavik, including in the Parc national des Pingualuit. Park staff co-operate closely with the community of Kangiqsujuaq in order to conciliate the different activities of park visitors and Inuit wildlife harvesters and ensure the safety of all.

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Red Fox

Lemming

Snowy Owl