MAKE YOUR CARIBOU SIGHTINGS MATTER!
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All travelers in Wabakimi who encounter caribou, or caribou evidence, are strongly encouraged to report their observations in iNaturalist. This is valuable information that can help to contribute to boreal caribou conservation in the region.

iNaturalist is an online platform and app that lets users document and share observations of plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms in their natural habitats. It is used by nature enthusiasts, researchers, conservationists, and educators to track biodiversity, engage in citizen science, and identify species. Ongoing observations help create valuable datasets for researchers and can highlight changes in species distribution due to the large number of contributors.

Reporting boreal caribou sightings in the Wabakimi Area through iNaturalist helps gather important data on their location. By sharing your observations with specific iNaturalist projects, you can make sure your sighting is added to a database that will contribute to the recovery of Boreal caribou in Ontario.  
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For more information on joining an iNaturalist project and creating an observation while you’re on a canoe trip, check out our FULL iNaturalist Guide HERE.

Follow these steps to make sure your caribou sighting is counted:

1. Create an iNaturalist account. 

• Set your licensing option so that your observations can be used by scientists and researchers. When you create an account, tick the box on the Sign Up page that says: “Yes, license my photos, sounds, and observations so scientists can use my data (recommended).”
• If you already have an account, check your licensing selection by clicking on ‘Account Settings’ under your profile in the top right corner of the computer screen. Click the ‘Content and Display’ tab. Scroll down to ‘Licensing’. Choose the license you prefer for your observations. *Choose “Attribution-NonCommercial” to make sure your observations will be available to researchers and scientists to use in their non-commercial research work.  

2. Join these two iNaturalist projects: 

• Wabakimi Boreal Caribou Citizen Monitoring Project
• (NHIC) Rare species of Ontario

3. Record your observation location:

• Make sure your photo (of caribou, or caribou scat, tracks or antlers) is geotagged (phone’s location services must be turned on), or you have made careful note of the location where you saw the caribou by using your GPS or map and a notebook.

4. Upload your observation:

• Click ‘Geoprivacy’ and click ‘Obscured’. This means the precise location of your observation will not be available to the public. Instead a small buffer will be put around your observation location, recommended for protecting the caribou.
• Under ‘Projects’, select both of the projects listed above.
• Check that all the data is correct, and then click ‘Upload’.

If you're new to iNaturalist, watch our tutorial webinar recording by Mhairi McFarlane for a full guide to how iNaturalist works and how you can contribute.

Click HERE for detailed information on joining an iNaturalist project and creating an observation while you’re on a canoe trip.