The Val-d’Or and Charlevoix caribou herds, which live in captivity, now have a total of six new caribou, learned The duty. Five fawns were born in recent weeks in the Charlevoix herd, placed in captivity last winter, but one died. However, these populations could eventually be condemned to extinction, according to a scenario analyzed by the Independent Commission on Caribou set up by the Legault government.
According to information provided by the Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks (MFFP), the very small herd of Val-d’Or, placed in captivity in 2020, now has nine animals.
Two caribou were born at the end of May, after a first birth last year. “The mothers and the fawns are doing well and have also been able to observe all four of them at the feeders over the past few days”, specifies the ministry.
In Charlevoix, where the last 16 caribou from this isolated herd were placed in captivity last winter in a 0.2 km2 enclosure, five fawns were born in the last few weeks and two other females are still pregnant. A young caribou, however, died a few days after birth. “The animal will be the subject of an expertise in order to determine the cause of its death”, specified Wednesday the MFFP.
Herds sacrificed?
In both Val-d’Or and Charlevoix, isolated herds of woodland caribou have been placed in captivity after suffering major declines in recent years due to disturbances in their habitats.
For the moment, the Legault government has no plan for the eventual release of these two populations, who live in regions where the forestry industry is very present.
However, the Independent Commission on Woodland Caribou analyzes two “hypothetical and theoretical” scenarios for the protection of the species. Both include additional protection measures, but one of the scenarios developed by the MFFP would be implemented “with no additional impact” for the forest industry.
In the case of this scenario, which would avoid possible financial losses for the industry, the government predicts that three “populations” of caribou would disappear. These are the caribou of the Val-d’Or region, those of Charlevoix and those of the Pipmuacan sector (covering the north of Saguenay−Lac-Saint-Jean and a portion of the North Shore). In all three cases, “the habitat is very disturbed”, specifies the Commission’s consultation document.
For the moment, we do not know if the Legault government will decide to abandon the two isolated herds that have been taken into captivity. Quebec is currently discussing with the federal government the protection of caribou. Ottawa has threatened to intervene in Quebec to protect the critical habitat of the species, under the provisions of the Species at Risk Act.
A total of 37 Quebec scientists also called on the Quebec government last month to use financial tools to protect the province’s mature forests. They thus propose to “account the benefits” of the protection of these ecosystems, which make it possible both to fight against the climate crisis and to preserve the habitats essential to the survival of the forest-dwelling caribou.