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The Boreal Forest > Species > Caribou

Caribou

Woodland Caribou Photo: Bruce Petersen
Woodland caribou could once be found as far south as Algonquin Park In Ontario. Now, these elusive forest-dwelling caribou are almost exclusively restricted to the northern reaches of the boreal forest. Caribou have steadily disappeared from areas further south as roads, logging and development have spread into their former range.

Caribou require large areas of intact coniferous forest both to find food sources like lichens common only to old forests and for protection from predators. Woodland caribou avoid predators like wolves by moving individually or in small groups through dense and often boggy forest. This makes it difficult for predators to find enough caribou to thrive and keeps predator populations in check.

When development, including logging, opens up areas of large, intact forest, it becomes easier for predators to find caribou. As well, deer and moose populations often increase in response to the change to younger forest and the greater availability of young plants for browsing. Increased deer and moose populations often lead to increases in predator populations, which undermines the caribou's survival strategy.

As well, development directly destroys the food sources and shelter used by woodland caribou, the only mammal that can survive by eating lichens. Human hunting pressure, including poaching, also increases when previously remote forests can be reached by road.

You can help save this iconic species

The result of these and other factors is that the natural habitat range for caribou has shrunk dramatically over the last century. We have essentially pushed woodland caribou into a corner -- our remaining intact boreal forests -- with nowhere left to move. If we destroy the intact nature of much of our remaining boreal forests, we will almost certainly also push woodland caribou into extinction.

Download the new report:

Uncertain Future: Woodland Caribou and Canada's Boreal Forest (pdf file, 1.2MB)

Read our submission on "Recovery Strategy for Forest-dwelling Woodland Caribou in Ontario". - 30 August 2006 (pdf, 164KB)