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Parks Canada seeks public comment on scope of assessment for caribou captive breeding

“Actual numbers will depend on reproductive rates, first-year mortality, and adult mortality in captivity, which are a function of good husbandry, facility management, captive conditions, and appropriate expertise."

JASPER – A last ditch emergency measure to save precarious caribou herds in Jasper National Park is one step closer to reality.

Parks Canada is laying the groundwork for an environmental assessment for a captive breeding project to save endangered caribou. The deadline for public input on the scope of the legally-required detailed impact assessment required for the project is April 8.

The plan is to breed caribou in captivity at a fenced facility to be built near Athabasca Falls, with a top priority to boost the 45-member Tonquin herd – the largest of the remaining herds – to a self-sustaining population of at least 200 animals.

Before this can move ahead, Parks Canada officials say they must decide whether the proposed 10- to 20-year conservation breeding and augmentation proposal to recover caribou in their natural habitat in Jasper is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

“After reviewing comments on the proposed scope, a detailed impact assessment will be forthcoming. A draft of the detailed impact assessment will be available as soon as possible," states Parks Canada scoping notice.

Parks Canada plans to design and build a breeding facility, which will include an animal treatment lab, handling barn and several fenced pens. The following step involves securing and capturing wild animals between the months of December to February to be transported to the breeding facility.

“The goal is to obtain a small number of caribou from source herds with the closest genetic and behavioural match to the wild herds where the animals will be released, while not affecting the source herds’ long-term viability,” states Parks Canada.

According to Parks Canada, captive breeding has the potential to supply enough caribou to reach self-sustaining herd sizes in wild herds in the Jasper-Banff local population units.

The project aims to produce 14-18 female yearlings a year, with anywhere from 11 to 15 to be released. Research indicates 10-20 females per year is possible.

“Actual numbers will depend on reproductive rates, first-year mortality, and adult mortality in captivity, which are a function of good husbandry, facility management, captive conditions, and appropriate expertise,” states Parks Canada. 

According to Parks Canada, selecting the right recipient herds, supporting the best ecological conditions in those recipient herds, and timing the release of captive-bred animals is considered crucial to achieving the project’s objectives and minimizing mortality after release.

The Tonquin herd looks to be the first priority.

“In order to prioritize animal welfare and minimize mortality, a soft release approach will be utilized,” states Parks Canada. “This approach provides captive-raised caribou an opportunity to acclimatize to the release location and potentially bond with the wild herd.”

Caribou that live in Jasper National Park are part of a sub-group of woodland caribou herds called southern mountain caribou.

Jasper was home to hundreds of caribou in the 1960s and today there are fewer than 60 remaining.

The Tonquin herd is estimated to have 45 caribou and the Brazeau herd has fewer than 15 caribou. The number of female caribou is now so small – an estimated nine in the Tonquin and less than three in the Brazeau – that these herds will not produce enough calves each year to grow the herds.

The À La Pêche herd on Jasper’s northern boundary is a partially migratory group of about 150 animals primarily managed by the province of Alberta. Some animals in the herd stay in Jasper year-round, some stay in the foothills and some migrate back and forth.

A fourth Jasper herd, known as the Maligne, was declared extirpated in 2020. The carcass of the last surviving breeding female was discovered buried in snow in 2018 and there have been no sightings of the herd since. It’s believed a wolverine killed it.

Banff National Park’s remnant caribou herd was wiped out in an avalanche north of Lake Louise in 2009.

The primary reason for declining mountain caribou populations in the last century was an imbalance in delicate predator-prey relationship, which is often caused by human activities that disturb or change a landscape, such as industrial development.

However, because the national park is protected, the cause of changing predatory and prey populations is different and believed to be associated with wildlife management practices introduced by the government in the early 1900s that created an overabundance of both elk and wolf populations for decades.

“This had long-term effects on caribou that continued well into the 2000s,” states Parks Canada’s website.

Human disturbance has also played a role in the decline of caribou, given that people can displace caribou from areas that are safe or that have good food sources. Caribou in the park can be disturbed by trail users, dogs, aircraft, or be killed in vehicle collisions on roadways.

Another key factor in the decline is predator access. Caribou have evolved to survive in the deep snow that drives predators to lower elevations where prey are easier to find and hunt, however, trails packed by skiers and snowshoers lead wolves into these otherwise inaccessible areas.

Lastly, habitat loss has also driven the decline in the number of caribou, which rely on old-growth forests as their primary winter habitat.

“Mature forests are becoming more vulnerable to insect outbreaks like mountain pine beetle and wildfire as a result of climate change and historical practices of putting out all wildfires,” states Parks Canada “Human activities on neighbouring lands can also have cascading effects on predator-prey dynamics within protected areas like national parks.”

To submit comments on the scope of the detailed impact assessment scope, email [email protected].

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