Foxe Basin - Wildlife

Wildlife

This is one of the little known areas of the Canadian Arctic, though it is proving to be biologically rich and diverse. The numerous polynyas in northern Foxe Basin support high densities of bearded seals and the largest walrus herd in Canada (over 6,000 individuals). Ringed seal and polar bear are common, with north Southampton Island as one of the highest-density polar bear denning areas in Canada. This area is also an important summering area for the bowhead whale, beluga and narwhal. Both bowhead whales and beluga winter in the waters of northeastern Hudson Bay. The region is the main North American stronghold of the Sabine's gull, with some 10,000 pairs nesting here. Moderate numbers of black guillemots, Arctic terns and glaucous, herring and ivory gulls also breed here. The Great Plain of the Koukdjuak on Baffin Island is the world's largest goose nesting colony, with upwards of 1.5 million birds, 75 percent of which are Lesser snow geese and the remainder Canada geese and brant. Shorebirds and ducks are also abundant. Several hundred thousand thick-billed murres breed on the cliffs of Digges Sound and Coats Island to the south.