“Wolves do not comprise the primary source of mortality for Deep-Snow Mountain caribou,” the report finds, “constituting only 5\u201310% of verified cases of mortality – in fourth place after cougars, bears and wolverines.” The authors point out, therefore, that it’s wrong to apply a “one-size fits all” approach when it comes to wolf culls.<\/p>\n
Besides, cullings ignore a long-accepted reality. It is loss of habitat due to human activity such as logging, which is the main driver of population decline.<\/p>\n
“Despite warnings that industrial resource extraction, primarily forestry, was detrimental to maintaining viable caribou populations, habitat modification, fragmentation and associated road-building increased over subsequent decades.” Since the “Deep-Snow” herds depend on lichen that grows on old growth trees, above the snow-line for food, their world is therefore “especially incompatible with large-scale clearcut forestry.<\/p>\n
“Logging,” the study goes on, “leads to increased predator densities and greater access to caribou via clearcuts, roads, snow compacted by snowmobiles, and the loss of forested refuges. Snowmobile and heli-skiing harassment are pervasive across the range of Deep-Snow Mountain caribou and impose potential harm during winter and spring calving. Snowmobile harassment has been acknowledged as an increasingly important factor in Deep-Snow Mountain caribou winter ecology.”<\/p>\n
The study\u2019s lead author, biologist Lee Harding, believes the importance of wooded habitat to caribou survival, cannot be overstated. \u201dForests provide caribou with refuge from wolves and separation from other prey animals, including elk, moose, and deer. Without them, caribou must constantly be on the move to find food, exposing them on all sides. Predators are just one of the hazards.” The need for conserving caribou populations, warn the authors, “is now urgent and carries large economic, ecological, cultural and social implications.”<\/p>\n
Top photo: Wolves howl in the wilderness. Creative Commons photo by “Vicious Bits”.<\/i><\/p>\n
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