Working by day, wildlife photographer at all other times

Rankin Inlet photographer talks being immersed in caribou herd

By Stewart Burnett Northern News Services Local Journalism Initiative Rankin Inlet

Born and raised in Rankin Inlet, David Kakuktinniq Jr. has been following the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou herd most of his life.

“When I was younger, I used to follow the herd for harvesting purposes,” he said.

But now his inspiration is more so for wildlife photography, as he has been building his name and brand in that field for several years.

“Now it becomes more enjoyable to witness,” he said.

As the herd has been passing by Rankin Inlet in the last few weeks, Kakuktinniq Jr. has been keeping his eye on the animals’ migration and his camera ready.

After waking up early on July 8 to see if he could grab some shots of the herd before work, he was treated to an exceptional experience.

“I actually made it to my destination, which was farther away, and I didn’t see anything along the way when I got there,” recalled Kakuktinniq Jr., adding that he began heading home on his ATV to prepare for work after being skunked on his original destination.

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“I think I was within the 5-10km range of home when those (caribou) popped over the hill, so I pulled over and got my gear ready and I was enjoying the scenery, capturing what I could.” He became surrounded by hundreds of caribou within mere feet of him, as he took in the moment while capturing it with his camera.

“When you’re in that situation where you see hundreds of caribou in front of you, time goes by pretty quick,” said Kakuktunniq Jr. “From the time I unpacked to the time I got my gear ready to go home when they finally passed, it was about an hour. By the time I was finished with that, I went to work at 8:30 in the morning.”

He called it a special experience. He also said the herd appears very healthy, potentially because of the early snow melt and abundance of food.

ᑕᐃᕕᑎ ᑲᑯᑦᑎᓐᓂᖅ ᒥᑭᓐᓂᖅᓴᖅ, ᐊᔨᓕᐅᖃᑎᖃᖅᐳᖅ ᐸᕗᓕ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖃᒪᓂᕐᔪᐊᖅ - ᑐᒃᑐᓂᒃ ᔪᓚᐃ 8. ᐊᔨᖁᑎ ᑕᐃᕕᑎ ᑲᑯᑦᑎᓐᓂ ᒥᑭᓐᓂᖅᓴᖅ ᑕᐃᕕᑎ ᑲᑯᒃᑎᓐᓂᖅ ᒥᑭᓂᖅᓴᖅ ᐊᔨᓕᐅᓚᐅᖅᑕᖓ ᑲᒪᓇᖅᑐᒃᑰᖅᑎᓪᓗᒍ ᑐᒃᑐᓂᒃ ᖁᖏᐊᖅᖢᓂ ᔪᓚᐃ 8. ᐊᔨᖁᑎ ᑕᐃᕕᑎ ᑲᑯᑦᑎᓐᓂ ᒥᑭᓐᓂᖅᓴᖅ

Beyond caribou, Kakuktinniq Jr. has been honing his photography craft for many years now. He has captured all sorts of wildlife from juvenile bald eagles to polar bears, but still on his list are walrus, beluga, wolverines, wolves and – if he’s really lucky – orca whales.

ᑎᐃᕕᑎ ᑲᑯᑦᑎᓐᓂ-ᐅᑉ ᐊᔨᓕᐅᒐᖏᑦ ᒪᓂᒪᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᑕᑯᔭᓯ. ᐊᔨᖁᑎ ᑕᐃᕕᑎ ᑲᑯᑦᑎᓐᓂ ᒥᑭᓐᓂᖅᓴᖅ