Woodland Caribou

Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) are formally listed as Threatened under Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA). A recent study published by Environment Canada found that Canada's woodland caribou are in trouble, as with most other caribou herds world-wide.  Forty-one of the 57 recognized woodland caribou herds are either not or potentially not self-sustaining.

The boreal caribou is a forest-dwelling, sedentary woodland caribou. This genetically unique population is adapted to its local environment. The range of the listed boreal caribou extends throughout the boreal forest in nine provinces and territories, from southwest Northwest Territories to Labrador. The limiting factors for caribou population dynamics include predation, meteorological conditions, food availability, insect harassment, and harvesting by humans.

The primary proximate limiting factor for boreal caribou populations is predation, driven by natural or human-induced landscape changes that favor early seral forest stages and higher densities of alternative prey. The distribution of woodland caribou appears to occur in refugia, often away from high densities of predators and their alternate prey.

If caribou can find such refuge, then snow appears to act as a factor at slightly finer scales, such as foraging areas with softer and shallower snow cover. Finally, selection for lichens occurs at even finer scales such as feeding craters chosen for their high lichen content.

Environment Canada. 2008. Scientific Review for the Identification of Critical Habitat for Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), Boreal Population, in Canada. August 2008. Ottawa: Environment Canada. 72 pp. plus 180 pp Appendices.