The Ministry of the Environment revealed Monday that it is investigating the killing of a female caribou which had been released two months earlier from the enclosure built to try to save the species in Gaspésie.
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“The slaughtered caribou was wearing a telemetry collar. This is one of the females captured and put in an enclosure in winter 2023. She was released with the other females at the end of August after the recommendations of an external scientific advisory committee. detailed the ministry in a press release on behalf of the Protection of Quebec Wildlife.
Wildlife officers began their investigation into the animal’s death on October 15, notably with the help of a dog handler and a drone pilot. They finally encountered suspects on October 18 and seized the caribou meat.
The Gaspésie mountain caribou herd – the only one present south of the St. Lawrence River – now only has a handful of individuals, compared to 700 to 1,500 during the 1950s. During the last inventory in 2021, the population was estimated at 38 individuals.
Last March, six females, including two pregnant, were captured and put in an enclosure to protect them from predators. However, one of the females and the two fawns that were born in the enclosure died over the following months.
In August, the five remaining females – including the one killed by poachers – were released so “that they can contribute to the population’s reproduction effort in the wild during the year 2023,” the ministry explained.
In addition to the mountain caribou in Gaspésie, the forest caribou north of the St. Lawrence is also threatened with extinction. The survivors of the Val-d’Or and Charlevoix herds were placed in enclosures, while the other populations are closely monitored.
A hunter who kills a woodland caribou faces a fine of $20,000, or even $40,000 in the event of a repeat offense.