From scientific study to wedding feast: the journey of a goose with GPS collar in northern Quebec

The flight path of the goose ended abruptly in early May on the traditional territory of the Cheezo family near the Cree community of Nemaska in northern Quebec. 

Cree hunter Anderson Jolly killed the bird on May 10 and immediately noticed it was wearing a GPS collar. 

"I was a little surprised … I've never harvested a goose with a GPS tracking device on its neck," said Jolly, from his home in Chisasibi, Que. 

"I looked at the collar and it had some information and an email address where you could report [to]." 

Jolly was hunting with his buddy Jerry Wapachee on the Cheezo family trapline, located across Champion Lake from Nemaska, 1,100 kilometres north of Montreal. Traplines are what traditional hunting grounds are called in northern Quebec Cree communities.

The goose had been in a flock of about 25 birds. They managed to harvest about half the flock, said Jolly.

"I started feeling the body of the goose, to see if it's healthy. I felt like I would be able to tell if the collar or the device on its neck would impact its health, but it seemed healthy. It seemed fat," said Jolly. 

As a former regional wildlife technician for the Cree Nation Government, he had been involved in studies to look at the health and habits of wildlife in Eeyou Istchee before. He is currently the Natural Resources Liaison for the Cree Nation of Chisasibi.

"I did think this might be an interesting project they're working on  … [and] I do support any research done with climate change and global warming," said Jolly. 

When the pair of hunters returned to the community, Jolly wrote to the email address on the collar and about a week later, got a response.

"They congratulated me," said Jolly. 

The response said the bird was part of a collaborative research project studying the Atlantic population of Canada geese that nest along the Ungava Peninsula in northern Quebec, according to Jolly. 

He was told the rechargeable GPS transmitters can be used for multiple years and was asked to return the collar. 

In return, he will receive a replica of the collar and has been sent a map with the goose's travels since it was tagged 450 days before, on February 15, 2023 in Virginia.