Woodland caribou (mountain) Photo credit: Terry Parker.
WoodLand
Status: Threatened, Endangered Population: 184,000
Range: Alaska across to Newfoundland, and south into Idaho
Threats: Logging, mining, hydro, oil and gas, climate change
The woodland caribou is usually found in small herds in boreal forests across Canada. In mountainous areas of western Canada, woodland caribou make seasonal movements from winter range in forested valleys to summer range on high, alpine tundra. Farther east, in the more level areas of boreal forest, they may move only a few kilometres seasonally from mature forest to open bogs. The mountain caribou ecotype, which lives in the mountain ranges west of the Rockies, lives in wet inland rainforests, moving seasonally from low-elevation cedar forests to sub-alpine spruce and fir. Average weights are 180 kg for bulls and 135 kg for cows.
In 2002, the forest-dwelling woodland caribou population in Canada was estimated at 184,000 animals. (1) Since then, there has been a downward trend in almost all populations. Woodland caribou generally use a "spacing out" strategy to avoid predators and thus require large swaths of intact forest to survive. Their main threat is from logging companies that have a big appetite for the old-growth forests upon which caribou rely to supply the lichen needed in their diet. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has noted, “It is doubtful that caribou can persist in forests managed primarily for [tree] fibre production.”(2)
One study estimates that over half of the woodland caribou’s historic range has been lost.(3) Already wiped out of the three Maritime provinces, their numbers are declining across their range. In Manitoba, a provincial government report estimated that “the [Manitoba] woodland caribou population has decreased by 50% since 1950.”(4) In BC, some herds of the mountain ecotype have recently disappeared.
Peary caribou Photo credit: Roy Hamaguchi, Ursus Photography.
Peary
Status: Endangered Population: <2,000
Range: Northern Arctic Archipelago
Threats: Climate change
Peary caribou live farther north than any other North American caribou. They are smaller than their southern caribou cousins, an adaptation to the extreme cold of their habitat.(1) Average weights are 70 kg for bulls and 55 kg for cows. Peary caribou live in a harsh, treeless environment, where much of the ground is rock or ice. Severe winters can prevent females from having adequate fat reserves for reproduction, and in some years can lead to starvation.(2) In 1961, the Peary caribou population was estimated at 26,000.(3) But in 1973-74 episodes of freezing rain, heavy snows and recurring periods of freezing and thawing blanketed the Arctic islands in thick ice, making it impossible for caribou to dig for food. Similar weather conditions in 1995-96 caused up to 85% of the population to starve to death. Fewer than 2,000 now remain(4) and many people believe that if current global warming trends continue Peary caribou may be unable to recover.(5)
Barren-ground caribou (porcupine herd) Photo credit: Edgar T. Jones.
Barren-ground
Status: Not listed* Population: 1.32 million
Range: Alaska to Baffin Island
Threats: Oil & gas, climate change
Barren-ground caribou make up the bulk of North America’s caribou population. Barren-ground caribou are migratory, travelling long distances over the Arctic tundra. Most live in five great herds which occupy home ranges across the breadth of the Arctic. From west to east, the herds are known as the Porcupine, Bluenose, Bathurst, Beverly, and Kaminuriak. Barren-ground caribou are a mainstay food-source for many northern First Nation and Inuit communities.
*COSEWIC has recommended two populations be listed as “Special Concern”
