The breeding of highly endangered caribou in Charlevoix and Gaspésie in enclosures has allowed for a total of 15 calves to be added this year, including nine in the Charlevoix population alone, which has more than doubled since it was put into captivity. However, its natural habitat is too disturbed by human activity to allow the release of the individuals.
According to a report published Wednesday morning by the Quebec Ministry of the Environment, last spring, 18 female caribou were found to be pregnant, 11 in Charlevoix and 7 in Gaspésie. No females were pregnant in Val-d’Or and this very small herd still has barely nine animals.
“All pregnant females have given birth. Eleven fawns were born in Charlevoix and seven in Gaspésie. Of these fawns, three died, two in Charlevoix and one in Gaspésie,” the ministry’s press release states.
In summary, nine fawns are added to the 30 forest caribou already kept in the Charlevoix facilities. The population now has 39 individuals, including 20 adults, 10 juveniles and nine fawns.
In Gaspésie, a total of 13 adult caribou out of the 25 in this population, or ten females and three males, were temporarily placed in captivity during the capture operation carried out in the winter of 2024. The births this spring bring the number of caribou in this captive keeping facility to 19.
Captivity
Despite last year’s failure, the capture operation in Gaspésie was still attempted again this year. It must be said that in 2019, the herd, already in sharp decline, was estimated at 40 animals, while inventories published based on 2017 data reported the presence of approximately 75 animals.
During the first censuses, in the 1950s, their number was estimated at between 700 and 1500. When inventories became systematic, in the 1980s, the population did not exceed 250 individuals. This isolated herd, the only one to survive south of the St. Lawrence, is therefore in a critical situation.
In the case of the caribou born in captivity in Gaspésie this year, it is likely that they will be released later this year. In the cases of Charlevoix and Val-d’Or, however, it seems impossible to envisage a release without moving forward with measures to protect their habitats, according to renowned woodland caribou expert Martin-Hugues St-Laurent. “Penning works to increase the number of caribou, but it is absolutely necessary to reduce disturbances in their habitat to give them a chance of survival if we release them.”
Mr. St-Laurent points out that Quebec has been so slow to act to protect declining populations of forest-dwelling caribou that some of them are now condemned, at best, to “decades” of captivity, and this only if the government finally puts in place ambitious measures to restore their forest habitats.
In the Val-d’Or region, habitat has been severely disrupted by the forestry industry and mining projects. In the case of Charlevoix, land development has also pushed caribou toward extinction, and a major wind project threatens to encroach on forested areas that could be their last refuge.
After having repeatedly postponed the unveiling of a plan to save the species demanded by scientists, several First Nations and the federal government, Quebec promised earlier this year the eventual implementation of protective measures for the caribou of the Gaspé and those of Charlevoix.
With regard to the Gaspé Peninsula, where caribou are concentrated in the Gaspésie National Park and its surrounding areas, the consultation document indicates that the government could authorize the continuation of mining activities related to exploration and exploitation in “conservation massifs” or in a “habitat restoration zone.”