In February 1988, 146 caribou were reintroduced to the Nushagak Peninsula. From 1988 to 2014, radio collars were deployed on female caribou and monitored monthly. High calf recruitment and adult female survival allowed the population to grow rapidly (r =0.226), peaking at 1,399 caribou in 1997. Population density on the Nushagak Peninsula reached approximately 1.2 caribou per km2 in 1997 and 1998. During the next decade, calf recruitment and adult female survival decreased and the population declined (r = -0.111) to 462 caribou in 2007. The population then increased (r=0.113) to 1,018 by 2014. Subsistence hunting removed from 0-12.3% of the population annually from 1995-2014. Rapid population growth, followed by decreased survival and production likely caused an unstable age distribution and subsequent population decline after the peak in 1997. Dispersal, disease, unreported harvest and predation implications for caribou populations are discussed.
