Photo by First a technical point: There are some twelve recognized subspecies of Caribou (aka Reindeer), of which two are now extinct. Three living and one extinct subspecies are (or were) found in Canada. One, in the high arctic, is down from tens of thousands to just a few hundred animals. The other two occur across northern and central Canada. The species, overall, is found mostly in the higher latitudes of the northern hemisphere.[teaserbreak]
In Canada, we tend to divide caribou into two broad groups: the so-called barren-ground caribou that is found on arctic tundra, and the woodland caribou, which inhabits some of our boreal forests.
Both have, historically, been integral to native culture, providing people with essential food, clothing, sinews, and bones. But, as the numbers of people, native and otherwise, and the infrastructure and commercial activities to support them, increase across vast range of the caribou, caribou are undergoing dramatic declines.
Here in Ontario, woodland caribou and their habitat have decreased, five years after the province committed itself to a strategy to preserve them, according to a recently released federal report. The story is bleak elsewhere, with the actions taken so far failing to protect caribou. Some such actions consist of little more than blaming natural predators, such as wolves, with subsequent culls, which are claimed to be essential if caribou are to survive in otherwise badly degraded habitat, protecting one species by endangering another.
The report, released October 31, claims none of the 51 herds in Canada is growing, with twenty are in decline, of which ten have less than 100 animals left. And, old-growth forest, essential to survival of woodland caribou, is also deteriorating.
But, I don’t want to leave the impression that nothing’s being done. The problem is the enormity and complexity of the threats to animals and their environment derived from increasing demands made on both, purposeful and unintended, all exacerbated by gaps in knowledge about the needs of caribou.
Native people see the killing of caribou as integral to protecting their culture and traditions. Forestry companies point to the enormous economic benefits and job creation that flows from their activities, as do mining interests. Urbanites with skis, snowmobiles, and a desire for wilderness experience increasingly invade boreal forests. Effects of climate change result in amplified numbers and severity of fires and changes in the number and composition of populations of plants, insects, and other creatures inimical to boreal forest, and/or caribou, survival.
As we stumble into the future, it appears to be one that will have room for ever fewer of the larger animals, virtually all of which are in profound levels of decline. We must try to decrease our impact, but often, as when then current U.S. administration methodically destroys decades of carefully planned conservation measures, we do the opposite.
I have seen caribou on the landscape, a sight we are rapidly removing from generations to come; how sad for them, and what will they think of us?
Keep wildlife in the wild,
Barry