Mountain caribou decline requires 'extreme' measures
Plans to increase the herds include captive breeding and sequestering pregnant cows and their calves
B.C.'s southern mountain caribou populations continue to decline precipitously despite an extensive provincial recovery plan and now require extreme management measures - including, potentially, captive breeding - to ensure their survival.
The latest surveys by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations suggest only 1,533 mountain caribou exist in B.C. - down from about 1,900 in 2007, when the province announced a recovery goal to increase the herds to 2,500 animals by 2027."It's been a steady decline," confirmed Chris Ritchie, fish and wildlife recovery manager. "Unless we take measures, which in some circumstances are pretty extreme ... we don't see any positive prognosis for these critters."
In an interview from Prince George, he said those measures may include another transplant of caribou from healthier herds - despite a failed attempt one year ago - keeping calves in maternity pens until they are older and better able to survive predators, and a captive-breeding program in cooperation with the Calgary Zoo and Parks Canada.
An avalanche in 2009 is thought to have killed the last herd of five caribou in Banff National Park in Alberta.
"A single incident has potentially very significant impacts," he said.
Axel Moehrenschlager, head of the Centre for Conservation Research at the Calgary Zoo, said Thursday he envisions a 10-to-20-year captive-breeding program starting with at least 30 to 40 genetically diverse caribou taken from the wild.The caribou likely would be held on the outskirts of Calgary at the zoo's Devonian Wildlife Conservation Centre, which has bred Przewalski's horses (a rare and endangered subspecies of wild horse native to the steppes of Mongolia) for release back to Asia as well as the Vancouver Island marmot for the B.C. government.
Captive breeding of mountain caribou would be a first, he said, and likely would involve the release of animals to areas where there are existing wild herds and few predators.
The other B.C. plan, scheduled for 2014, is to capture caribou cows, which are pregnant by March, and move them into a fenced enclosure, keep them there during the June birthing period, then keep the cows and calves four to six weeks before their release.
"Hopefully, we can move the calves past that period of high vulnerability to predation," Ritchie said.
The province relocated 19 woodland caribou from the Dease Lake area of northwest B.C. to the south Purcells in March 2012. Rather than stay in the alpine where they were released, the caribou moved to the valleys where they were hunted by cougars, a species that is not common in northwest B.C. Only four caribou are still alive.
The ministry is searching for another donor herd from a healthy herd, such as the Hart Ranges, although Ritchie noted the initiative may amount to "robbing Peter to pay Paul."
The 1,500-plus mountain caribou are considered an "eco-type" of the greater population of 18,000 woodland caribou (including northern and boreal types) in B.C. and are defined by their reliance in winter on lichen found in high-elevation older forests."They're not a subspecies," Ritchie said. "The only difference is in their behaviour."
The latest surveys by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations suggest only 1,533 mountain caribou exist in B.C. - down from about 1,900 in 2007, when the province announced a recovery goal to increase the herds to 2,500 animals by 2027."It's been a steady decline," confirmed Chris Ritchie, fish and wildlife recovery manager. "Unless we take measures, which in some circumstances are pretty extreme ... we don't see any positive prognosis for these critters."
In an interview from Prince George, he said those measures may include another transplant of caribou from healthier herds - despite a failed attempt one year ago - keeping calves in maternity pens until they are older and better able to survive predators, and a captive-breeding program in cooperation with the Calgary Zoo and Parks Canada.
An avalanche in 2009 is thought to have killed the last herd of five caribou in Banff National Park in Alberta.
"A single incident has potentially very significant impacts," he said.
Axel Moehrenschlager, head of the Centre for Conservation Research at the Calgary Zoo, said Thursday he envisions a 10-to-20-year captive-breeding program starting with at least 30 to 40 genetically diverse caribou taken from the wild.The caribou likely would be held on the outskirts of Calgary at the zoo's Devonian Wildlife Conservation Centre, which has bred Przewalski's horses (a rare and endangered subspecies of wild horse native to the steppes of Mongolia) for release back to Asia as well as the Vancouver Island marmot for the B.C. government.
Captive breeding of mountain caribou would be a first, he said, and likely would involve the release of animals to areas where there are existing wild herds and few predators.
The other B.C. plan, scheduled for 2014, is to capture caribou cows, which are pregnant by March, and move them into a fenced enclosure, keep them there during the June birthing period, then keep the cows and calves four to six weeks before their release.
"Hopefully, we can move the calves past that period of high vulnerability to predation," Ritchie said.
The province relocated 19 woodland caribou from the Dease Lake area of northwest B.C. to the south Purcells in March 2012. Rather than stay in the alpine where they were released, the caribou moved to the valleys where they were hunted by cougars, a species that is not common in northwest B.C. Only four caribou are still alive.
The ministry is searching for another donor herd from a healthy herd, such as the Hart Ranges, although Ritchie noted the initiative may amount to "robbing Peter to pay Paul."
The 1,500-plus mountain caribou are considered an "eco-type" of the greater population of 18,000 woodland caribou (including northern and boreal types) in B.C. and are defined by their reliance in winter on lichen found in high-elevation older forests."They're not a subspecies," Ritchie said. "The only difference is in their behaviour."
The ministry is also trying to save the caribou through predator control, including liberalized hunting and trapping seasons. The province also sterilized wolves and has increased hunting of moose on a pilot basis to discourage wolves from areas where caribou are also found. The ministry's draft wolf management plan suggests aerial shooting of entire wolf packs to protect mountain caribou, but a final decision has not been made.
Anne Sherrod of the Valhalla Wilderness Society said the provincial emergency measures do not include two of the most important actions of all - an immediate ban on old-growth logging in areas where mountain caribou exist and greater restrictions on snowmobiling.
She said the latest survey numbers prove the provincial recovery plan has failed, adding: "I think it's extraordinary that increased habitat protection is not on the list of measures they're considering."
John Bergenske of Wildsight, who sits on the province's caribou progress board, said he believes the province is generally on the right track and that artificial initiatives may be necessary to assist the caribou until habitat improves. "It's a desperate situation," he said.
Anne Sherrod of the Valhalla Wilderness Society said the provincial emergency measures do not include two of the most important actions of all - an immediate ban on old-growth logging in areas where mountain caribou exist and greater restrictions on snowmobiling.
She said the latest survey numbers prove the provincial recovery plan has failed, adding: "I think it's extraordinary that increased habitat protection is not on the list of measures they're considering."
John Bergenske of Wildsight, who sits on the province's caribou progress board, said he believes the province is generally on the right track and that artificial initiatives may be necessary to assist the caribou until habitat improves. "It's a desperate situation," he said.
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