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. 

"When I looked at the map. It was interesting to see where the goose has been and how long it's had it on," said Jolly.   

The map showed the spring and fall migration path in 2023 and the spring migration in 2024.  In 2023, the goose flew to the Ottawa area, the Quebec City area, then north all the way to Salluit, Que. and back. In 2024, the goose flew to the Quebec city area then north to Champion Lake, Nemaska and Jolly's shot. 

Concerns about impacts of southern goose hunt

Jolly said seeing the migration of this bird laid out has made him think more about concerns he already had about what the Crees call the "southern goose hunt." In the last 10 years or so, an increasing number of Cree hunters head south in the spring to hunt in the Ottawa area. 

"Since I've known about the Cree hunting in the Ottawa area, I've had some concern that they could be disrupting or disturbing the migration route and also the health or feeding areas of the geese," said Jolly, adding Ottawa is an important rest stop for the geese on their way north. 

Jolly, who is from the inland community of Nemaska, said in his work as a regional wildlife technician and since moving to the coastal community of Chisasibi, he has learned a style of hunting where people are not allowed to hunt at geese feeding grounds. 

It is important for the ongoing health of the flock and goslings to allow the geese to rest and feed on their migration without interruption.

Jolly also said the impacts of rising water levels from climate change and hydroelectric development in his homeland have forced Cree hunters like him to change the way they hunt. 

Jolly now builds two floating blinds, one white for early spring and another camouflage for later spring and for when water levels are high.

He said water levels are higher as a result of many things, including a faster spring runoff because of climate change and also the provincial public utility, Hydro-Québec, letting more water through dams in northern Quebec in the spring. This is to generate more power and meet rising energy demands in the South. The timing of the opening of the gates can impact the spring goose hunt.

The collared goose, for example, was harvested from a camouflaged floating blind. 

When Jolly first contacted the researchers, they asked what the Cree hunter wanted to do with the harvested goose. 

Eaten, not stuffed

"They were asking me if I'm going to mount the bird, have it stuffed by a taxidermist, but I told him I'm planning to eat it at a traditional wedding." 

Jolly and his fiancé, Ellen Joyner, are planning a traditional wedding for later this year. The collared goose will be served at their wedding feast.

"Goose is a main food on the feast plate," said Jolly, along with bear, beaver and other delicacies. 

"So I saved some geese for that special occasion." 

Jolly encourages other Cree hunters to not hesitate to contact research teams if they harvest a collared goose during either the spring or the fall goose hunt season.