Environment and Conservation
October 27, 2015

Responsible and Sustainable Resource Management

Province Releases Report on the Island of Newfoundland's Caribou

The Honourable Dan Crummell, Minister of Environment and Conservation today released a report on the island of Newfoundland's caribou population, summarizing the five-year caribou research and management initiative. The report outlines key considerations for sustainable caribou management on the island of Newfoundland which will help guide future activities in the management of this important resource. Both the full and summary reports are available online at www.gov.nl.ca/env.

"The Provincial Government is committed to sustainable management of caribou on the island of Newfoundland today and for future generations. The integration of these findings and considerations into management practice will enable government to work, in collaboration with our stakeholders, in a proactive manner."
- The Honourable Dan Crummell, Minister of Environment and Conservation

Newfoundland's island caribou population has declined from a peak of about 94,000 animals in the late 1990s to a population of approximately 32,000 by 2013. The caribou study determined that the population decline occurred because the peak population was unsustainably high.

In the case of the Newfoundland caribou, evidence suggests that food quality and/or availability was the primary limiting factor to caribou populations. In addition:

  • Adult and calf caribou became smaller;
  • The quality of the caribou diet decreased; and
  • Female caribou began to search for food in areas that increased the likelihood of encountering predators such as bear and coyote.

The prevalence of small calves living in risky habitat further increased vulnerability to predators.

There is no evidence that the Newfoundland caribou population is at risk of extinction. Once food resources recover, caribou are expected to increase in number. A summary of key report findings is available in the backgrounder below.

"The research that has been completed through this initiative will provide an invaluable source of information to be used in decision-making by the Provincial Government and the resource sector such as our partners in the forestry and mining industries, as well as the hunting community."
- Minister Crummell

In 2008, the Provincial Government announced $15.3 million in funding for a scientific research and management initiative for the island caribou population. The Caribou Resource Committee, a stakeholder committee made up of government and non-government representatives, was established as a mechanism for information exchange and discussion. A team of renowned academics with expertise in predator-prey relationships and a team of researchers from various North American universities including Memorial University provided scientific advice on research design and evaluation.

The initiative built upon earlier efforts to better understand the current decline in caribou numbers and the role of predators in this decline.

QUICK FACTS

  • The Honourable Dan Crummell, Minister of Environment and Conservation, today released a report on the Newfoundland Caribou.
  • The island of Newfoundland's caribou population declined from a peak of about 94,000 animals in the late 1990s to a population of approximately 32,000 by 2013.
  • The caribou study determined that the population decline occurred because the peak population was unsustainably high.
  • The report outlines key considerations for caribou sustainability on the island of Newfoundland and will be used when noting what will be done with the research to inform further work with caribou populations.
  • The report outlines key considerations for sustainable caribou management on the island of Newfoundland which will help guide future activities in the management of this important resource.
  • Both the full and summary reports are available online at www.gov.nl.ca/env.

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Media contact:

Emily Timmins
Director of Communications
Department of Environment and Conservation
709-729-2575, 709-693-1292
emilytimmins@gov.nl.ca

BACKGROUNDER
Summary Report of the Island of Newfoundland Caribou

  • The island of Newfoundland's caribou populations declined from a peak of about 94,000 in the late 1990s to a population of approximately 32,000 by 2013. The population decline occurred because the peak population of the mid-1990s was unsustainably high:
    • Competition between caribou for food and/or space led to reduced nutrition. As a result, adult and calf caribou became smaller and caribou began to use habitat where they were more likely to encounter predators in order to access food. This made caribou calves highly vulnerable to predators.
    • Predators such as black bear, coyote, lynx and bald eagle took advantage of this vulnerability and rates of predation mortality increased. Calf survival became extremely low in the early 2000s – in some years, less than 5 per cent of calves born survived the first 6 months of life.
    • With so few calves surviving, they could not replace the adults that normally die every year and the caribou population began to decline on the island of Newfoundland.
  • The Newfoundland caribou forage quality and availability was found to be the limiting factor for caribou populations. The influence of predation on the Newfoundland caribou population may be considered a secondary factor related to compromised nutrition.
  • High caribou densities can result in overcrowding and/or overgrazing of the landscape which creates competition between caribou for limited food and nutritional stress.
  • In recent years, some trends associated with the decline have reversed: (for example, caribou are getting larger and calf survival is improving) and the rate of population decline has slowed substantially compared to the early 2000s. Census surveys indicate that although the island-wide population is continuing to decline, some herds are showing stable or increasing numbers.
  • The rate of caribou population decline has slowed substantially in recent years, however further declines are predicted in the short term.
  • Caribou populations may remain at low density for a few decades (as was observed following the previous major decline), but once food resources recover, caribou are expected to increase in number.
  • The following specific factors were studied and found not to have caused the decline:
    • Coyote: Coyote are important and significant predators of caribou calves on the island, and their arrival undoubtedly added to caribou predation but to some extent likely displaced some predation usually caused by other animals.
    • Hunting: The population would have declined even if no hunting took place. Current harvest management does not endanger the long-term persistence of caribou in Newfoundland.
    • Development: Development and human activity can have profound effects on caribou populations, as seen in Alberta and southern British Columbia, but in Newfoundland the majority of land traditionally occupied by caribou remains relatively intact.

2015 10 27                              11:40 a.m.