Jasper National Park of Canada

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Jasper National Park's Woodland Caribou

Woodland Caribou in Jasper National Park
© Parks Canada

You can reach into your wallet and touch a caribou (they're featured on the Canadian quarter) but in many areas of Canada these animals are just a memory on the landscape. The woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), which once ranged from British Columbia to Newfoundland, are slowly disappearing. Populations in Alberta and British Columbia are designated as Species at Risk. Even in protected areas like national parks, the future for this symbol of Canadian wilderness is uncertain. In Banff National Park, as few as four caribou may remain in a herd which numbered about 30 animals fifteen years ago. Jasper National Park is home to 200-350 caribou, but numbers are declining here as well.

Caribou eating lichen, Jasper National Park © Parks Canada

Two distinct woodland caribou herds live in Jasper National Park. The northern (A la Peche) herd moves seasonally between north Jasper and the Willmore Wilderness Park. The south Jasper population roams in the Maligne, Tonquin, Jonas Creek and Poboktan Pass areas.

The northern herd historically wintered in the foothills, but these caribou now spend their entire year in the mountains. The abandonment of their foothill winter range may be due to recent winters of low snow-pack, allowing easier access to ground lichens in the mountains. Intensive industrial activity and high wolf numbers in the foothills may also be causing this change in migration. Jasper's southern population of woodland caribou migrates between the alpine and lower forests, staying in the park most of the year.

25 cent circulation coin © Parks Canada

The caribou design is featured on the 25 cent circulation coin from the Royal Canadian Mint. It was created by Canadian artist Emmanuel Hahn and was first used in 1937.
(Credit: Royal Canadian Mint).

A species at risk

Surveys indicate that both Jasper herds are in decline. The northern herd is estimated at 150 animals. The south Jasper herd, numbering around 100, is down from counts of 450 surveyed in the early 1960's. Based on these trends, population models predict that the south Jasper woodland caribou herd could be completely gone in 40 years.

It's difficult to determine why the woodland caribou are disappearing. Limited patches of high quality habitat, predation by wolves, climate change, and the direct and indirect effects of human activity are all possible factors.

Visitors hiking in Jasper National Park © Parks Canada

What can you do?
• Give them space. If you see caribou do not approach, observe them and move on.
• Report observations to park staff. Include information on the number of animals observed, time, date, location, snow depth and condition and how the animals responded.
• Leave your dog at home when you go into caribou country.
• Don't follow caribou tracks.
• Take photos only from a distance.

Looking for answers

The north Jasper herd is the focus of a long-term research and monitoring program coordinated through the West Central Alberta Caribou Standing Committee. This is a joint effort involving the Province of Alberta, Parks Canada and regional stakeholders.

The south Jasper woodland caribou population is the subject of a four-year research project both to determine the precise status of caribou in the Maligne Valley, and identify possible causes for the declining population. The study involves annual population counts, GPS collaring of wolves and caribou to track movement patterns, detailed monitoring of environmental factors such as snow pack, and monitoring the amount, timing and location of human use in the Maligne area. Options for experimental changes to human use are being developed for possible testing in years three and four of this research program. At this point, there are no plans to close the Maligne Lake road in winter for research purposes.

Caribou Crossing Sign, Jasper National Park © Parks Canada

During the winter, when energy is at a premium and food is more difficult to acquire, caribou need our consideration! Avoid skiing or traveling through areas where you have observed caribou or fresh sign of caribou.

Small numbers of caribou winter along Highway 93. Watch for roadside signs and slow down.

For more information

An open workshop to develop scientific research options was held in January 2003. Regular updates regarding this project can be obtained at the Park Information Office and the Jasper National Park website www.parkscanada.gc.ca/jasper or from park biologist Mark Bradley at (780) 852-6105.

Check these sites for information on caribou projects in Alberta www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca and the Species at Risk program www.rr.ualberta.ca/research/caribou.

WOODLAND CARIBOU

Taking action for a species at risk

Hikers in Jonas Pass or the Tonquin Valley often scan the high alpine slopes hoping for a glimpse of the elusive woodland caribou. The sight of a caribou in the distance is a connection to wilderness - like hearing a wolf howl or noticing a grizzly bear print on the trail.

Woodland caribou are a threatened species in western Canada and in national parks they are at risk of disappearing altogether. Banff has only ?ve caribou left. Jasper is the only mountain national park with viable herds, but the numbers are dwindling. In the southern part of Jasper National Park only about 100 caribou are left, so each one is valuable. It’s not too late to help these herds recover to a healthy level. We can ensure there will always be opportunities to see caribou by simply changing what we do in caribou habitat.

What can you do?

Hiking in Caribou Country

Caribou are sensitive animals, constantly on the alert for predators. People represent an unknown threat and dogs look and act very similar to wolves, a caribou’s main predator. Even dogs on leash increase the stress of most wildilife. To reduce the stress caribou experience when they see people and dogs Parks Canada is changing the way people hike in caribou country:

1. Dogs will no longer be allowed in areas of the park where caribou range - the Tonquin Valley and Verdant Pass area, Cavell Meadows, the Skyline Trail, the Bald Hills and Opal Hills, Maligne Pass, Jonas Creek and Poboktan Creek trails. Dogs are still allowed on leash everywhere else in the park.
2. During calving season (June - early July) and rutting season (late September) when caribou expend a lot of energy raising calves and mating, hikers are asked to avoid hiking in caribou range - those same areas where dogs are not allowed. Staff at the Information Centre can suggest other great hikes in the alpine such as Wilcox Pass, Whistlers and Sulphur Skyline.
3. Hikers are asked to stay on the main trails and avoid off-trail hiking in caribou range to reduce the disturbance caribou experience when people are in the area.

Skiing in Caribou Country

Winter is a harsh season for woodland caribou. Food is scarce on the wind-swept alpine slopes where caribou stay, hoping to evade hungry wolves. Track-set ski trails make it easy for people and wolves to travel into areas where caribou winter. To help caribou survive the winter without the added stress of people and wolves, Parks Canada will take the following actions:

1. Instead of tracksetting in critical wintering areas like the Maligne Valley, Parks Canada will set ski trails in other areas of the park where there are no caribou. The skiing community can help determine where these new ski trails shoud go.
2. Even non-trackset ski trails allow wolves easier access into caribou winter ranges. To discourage wolves from following these trails, barriers of ribbon that wave in the wind will be tied across some ski trails. This technique, called “fladry”, has had some success in southern Alberta and Europe in keeping wolves out of certain areas.
3. As in the summer, dogs will not be allowed on ski trails in critical caribou winter range.

Driving through Caribou Country

When so few caribou remain in the park, any number killed by vehicles is too many. Parks Canada will try to reduce deaths on park roads.

1. In winter, caribou often come down onto park roads. New 70 km/hr speed zones will slow vehicles down at key locations on Highway 93 south (between Poboktan Creek and Beauty Creek Hostel). Signs on Maligne Road will remind motorists of the 60 km/hr speed limit.
2. Caribou attracted to the salt on winter roads are not only at risk from vehicles, but are more vulnerable to predation by wolves in the valley bottoms. Parks Canada will evaluate the use of a chemical deterrent added to salt on sections of the Icefields Parkway and Maligne Road where caribou frequent. This unpalatable chemical has helped stop sheep from licking salt on roads.

Other Actions

Parks Canada will stop using helicopters over caribou ranges and will identify flight paths for private aircraft that will not affect caribou. Parks Canada will continue studying caribou behaviour to learn more about how caribou, predators and people affect one another.

What we know

The community recovery team

In 2003, Jasper National Park asked a diverse group of people to help develop some options for recovering caribou. Biologists, local business owners, recreationists and community members shared their local knowledge and learned about what could be threatening caribou from the best available scientific knowledge. The recovery team debated and discussed the pros and cons of all the possible actions and rated them according to their impact on caribou, their impact on people and their feasibility.
The information and advice of the recovery team formed the basis for this first phase of actions that will occur between 2005 and 2007. Most of the actions in this phase are based on the principle that given good knowledge, people will make choices that benefit caribou and their future in Jasper National Park. The caribou recovery team will continue to review on-going research and revise and update actions for future phases.

Give us your thoughts.

The recovery team and Parks Canada will be collecting input on where new track-set ski trails should go in June 2005. Watch for more information in the Jasper Booster or call Mark Bradley at 852-6105 to get involved.

Declining numbers

Woodland caribou populations across Alberta are declining. Jasper is home to two populations of woodland caribou. The northern A la Peche herd is estimated at 150 animals, and seems to be relatively stable. The South Jasper population is down to only about 100 animals, a drop of almost 50% in the past 16 years. If this trend continues, the south Jasper herd could disappear within 40 years.

Biologists think landscape changes like seismic lines, logging and oil and gas development reduce high quality habitat and create young forests that attract predators. In protected areas like Jasper National Park, human activity effects caribou behavior and human trails often allow wolves better access for hunting in winter. Changing climate may also affect the access to food and the risks of predation.

Caribou research in Jasper

Parks Canada has been studying radio-collared caribou and wolves since 2001. By tracking their movements biologists are learning how many caribou exist, where they roam at different times of the year and how wolves, people and fire affect their behaviour.

The woodland caribou of Jasper are not the like the great herds of northern caribou species that migrate across the tundra. Woodland caribou are usually found in loose groups of about 10 animals. Cows and calves stick together and are only found with males during the fall mating season. They live in the old growth forests of the high subalpine and on windy alpine slopes and survive almost entirely on lichen.