Canada's Caribou Are Disappearing Fast

All over Canada's vast northern expanse, caribou herds are disappearing at alarming rates. From British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec, to Baffin Island, the ancient species, known for feeding Canada's indigenous populations for centuries, is on the ropes.

In Nunavut, the situation is dire with populations reportedly plummeting from mere decades earlier. But in a recent move, the Harper government is actually taking steps to mitigate the at-risk species.

A government tender issued this week is actually asking for help from the private sector in facilitating a national strategy to save the Peary caribou—a  smaller, most northerly species known for their almost pure white coats of fur in the winter.

"Environment Canada plans to hold consultations to facilitate the development of the national recovery strategy for Peary caribou," said the release.

Under the terms of the Species At Risk Act, the federal government is required to "prepare a recovery strategy for the species and to engage jurisdictions, Aboriginal Peoples, and stakeholders through meaningful consultations."

That means the government will actually consult Invialuit and Inuit peoples on the future of the game they've eaten for a millennia—on what to do next. The feds hope the private sector will help facilitate that dialogue with a long list of Inuit organizations, among them several hunting and trapping collectives.

It's a rich turn of events considering the government itself admits in an online profile of the endangered species that the reasons for its rapid population decline are, "oil and gas exploration and hunting." Those are areas the feds have presided over for years, which directly led to the decline of the species.

But, like in other cases of Arctic animals, climate change is partially to blame for the disappearance of Peary caribou. A report from the Northwest Territories shows the warming winters mean fewer windswept Arctic plains revealing the vegetation the Peary caribous rely on. Instead, the wetter winters bury the vegetation under layers of snow or ice, preventing the caribou from digging it up to eat.

Overhunting is also to blame, with reports some hunters have gone too far exercising their right to cull the animal. The Nunavut government has even advised against the sale of caribou meat, a right of the Inuit.

Nationally, as Canadian Geographic reports, other caribou species are suffering from numerous threats. Everything from human influence on traditional feeding territories, overhunting, to wolves, has helped decimate herds across the country.

It's no help the current Harper government isn't known for its climate change or animal protection record, especially in light of reports it offered up tracts of land set aside for reindeer grazing to oil and gas exploration. But, there's no denying the latest study and national management plan is a step in the right direction when it comes to the fate of the caribou.