Baffin Island is home to the
Isulijarniq Migratory Bird Sanctuary and the
Bowman Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. The Isulijarniq Migratory Bird Sanctuary, named for
J. Dewey Soper, is located on the western side of Baffin Island from
Bowman Bay to the
Koukdjuak River. It is an area that was classified a
wetland of international importance via the
Ramsar Convention on May 24, 1982. It is home of the world's largest goose colony and supports a large number of
barren-ground caribou. The Bowman Bay Wildlife Sanctuary is also located on the western side of Baffin Island near Bowman Bay in the
Great Plain of the Koukdjuak. It is and is classified as
Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area) under the
International Union for Conservation of Nature. Baffin Island has both year-round and summer visitor wildlife. On land, examples of year-round wildlife are
barren-ground caribou,
polar bear,
Arctic fox,
red fox,
Arctic hare,
lemming, and
Baffin Island wolf. Barren-ground caribou herds migrate in a limited range from northern Baffin Island down to the southern part in winter, even to the Frobisher Bay peninsula, next to
Resolution Island, then migrating back north in the summer. Arctic hares are found throughout Baffin Island. Their fur is pure white in winter and moults to a scruffy dark grey in summer. Arctic hares and lemmings are an important food source for Arctic and red foxes and Arctic wolves. Lemmings are also found throughout the island and are a major food source for foxes, wolves and the
snowy owl. In the winter, lemmings dig complicated tunnel systems through the snow drifts to get to their food supply of dry grasses and
lichens.
Predators Polar bears can be found all along the coast of Baffin Island but are most prevalent where the
sea ice takes the form of
pack ice, where their major food sources—
ringed seals (jar seal) and
bearded seals—live. Polar bears mate approximately every year, bearing one to three cubs around March. Female polar bears may travel inland to find a large snow bank where they dig a
den in which to spend the winter and later give birth. The polar bear population here is one of 19 genetically distinct
demes of the
circumpolar region. Red foxes can be found predominantly in the southernmost areas of Baffin Island, away from the harshest of winter weather, though some individuals may forage and explore elsewhere. The Arctic foxes can usually be found where polar bears venture on the
fast ice close to land in their search for seals. Arctic foxes are scavengers and often follow polar bears to get their leavings. They also are known to take ground-nesting birds and their eggs and chicks, such as ducks, geese, ptarmigan, seagulls, shorebirds and even snowy owls, on occasion. On Baffin Island, Arctic foxes are sometimes trapped by
Inuit, but there is no longer a robust
fur industry. The
Arctic wolf and the
Baffin Island wolf, a
grey wolf subspecies, are also year-round residents of Baffin Island. Unlike the grey wolf in southern climes, Arctic wolves often have smaller social networks, due to the barren landscape and minimal resources, thus resulting in unique hierarchies when compared with wolves found further south. For example, Arctic wolves often do not hunt in packs, although a male-female pair may hunt together. on Baffin Island, with Davis Strait in the background
Birds Nesting birds are summer land visitors to Baffin Island. Baffin Island is one of the major nesting destinations from the Eastern and Mid-West flyways for many species of
migrating birds.
Waterfowl include
eiders,
Canada goose,
snow goose,
cackling goose, and
brant goose (brent goose). Shore birds include the
phalarope, various
waders (commonly called
sandpipers),
murres including
Brünnich's guillemot, and
plovers.
Gull species also nest on Baffin Island and they include
Sabine's gull,
glaucous gull,
herring gull and
ivory gull. Long-range travellers include the
Arctic tern, which migrates from
Antarctica every spring. The varieties of
water birds that nest here include
coots,
loons,
mallards, and many other duck species.
Summer visitors Water species that visit Baffin Island in the summer are:
Harp seals (or saddle-backed seals), which migrate from major breeding grounds off the coast of
Labrador and the southeast coast of Greenland to Baffin Island for the summer. Migrating at speeds of , they all come up to breathe at the same time, then dive and swim up to before surfacing again. They migrate in large pods consisting of a hundred or more seals to within of the shoreline, which they then follow, feeding on
crustaceans and fish.
Walruses, which do not migrate far off land in the winter. They merely follow the
fast ice, or ice that is solidly attached to land, and stay ahead of it as the ice hardens further and further out to sea. As winter progresses, they will always remain where there is open water free of ice. When the ice melts, they move in to land and can be found basking on rocks close to shore. One of the largest walrus herds can be found in the Foxe Basin on the western side of Baffin Island.
Beluga or white
whales migrate along the coast of Baffin Island; some head north to the feeding grounds in the
Davis Strait between Greenland and Baffin Island, or into the Hudson Strait or any of the bays and estuaries in between. Usually travelling in pods of two or more, they can often be found very close to shore ( or less). They come up to breathe every 30 seconds or so as they make their way along the coastline eating crustaceans.
Narwhals, which are known for the males' long, spiralling single tusk, can also be found along the coast of Baffin Island in the summer. Much like their beluga cousins, they may be found in pairs or even in a large pod of ten or more males, females and newborns. They also can be often found close to the shoreline, gracefully pointing their tusks skyward as they come up for air. The largest summer visitor to Baffin Island is the
bowhead whale. Found throughout the
Arctic range, one group of bowhead whales is known to migrate to the Foxe Basin, a bay on the western side of Baffin Island. ==Climate==