In late July and early August the caribou cows and calves of the 300,000 strong Leaf River herd migrate southbound from their calving grounds and steadily move in groups well inland from the coast of Ungava Bay. In 2014, we took Dutch photographers and filmmakers Paul & Jose Wolff deep into the Ungava Peninsula of Nunavik Canada to experience and film this rarely seen wildlife phenomena. This resulting film was taken by and copyrighted to Paul Wolff – and used with permission.

Traveling by motorized freighter canoe up a remote Arctic river along with an Inuit guide and camping en-route, the small group of adventurers encountered the fringe of the great caribou migration. Over a period of days they saw thousands of caribou – sometimes in groups of hundreds at a time – swimming the river at water crossings and following age-old worn trails. They also experienced a rare event: migrating caribou mixing with a musk-ox herd, and even encountered caribou-wolf interaction when they rounded a corner in the river and interrupted a tundra wolf attacking a cow caribou just after she emerged from a water crossing. The caribou didn’t make it. The entire expedition was exposed raw nature at its best, uniquely mixed with cultural exposure to the Inuit people who have lived, hunted and survived on these harsh lands and waters for thousands of years.

Every summer, working with the Inuit of Ungava, we organize small-group guided expeditions to experience the rarely-seen great summer caribou migration in Nunavik Canada – to learn more go to http://www.thelon.com/carboo.htm