RE: Progress report on steps taken to protect critical habitat ...
Buyhigheatchips....good read yr find of the Progress update.
Our VP tech, Paul Davis identified that the Caribou herd in question is the
link:
https://www.parcparcours.com/grands-jardins/fiches/caribou_en.html THE CHARLEVOIX CARIBOU
QUITE A HISTORY BEHIND THEM
The woodland caribou has long been a part of the Charlevoix landscape. As this population is isolated from the caribou in northern Qubec, Gaspsie and Val-d'Or, it has a history all its own.
At the turn of the 20th century, Thomas Fortin, inspector of Parc National des Laurentides from 1907 to 1941 (a portion of which would later become Parc national des Grands-Jardins) believed the population of caribou in the Charlevoix region to be close to 10,000 individuals. Since the method for estimating animal populations has been refined, this number has been reduced to the figure of 5,000 or 6,000.
In the early 1900s, after the Great Gardens region had earned its reputation with hunters and visitors from all over, the Charlevoix caribou population declined sharply, nearly disappearing in the early 1920s. Several hypotheses were evoked to explain their decline: the loss of habitat owing to human activity (logging, road building), forest fires, overhunting, predation by the wolf, emigration, and disease. Over time, researchers attributed their decline to a combination of some of these reasons, including hunting, the loss of habitat, and the wolf.
For more than 50 years, the caribou in the Charlevoix were but a memory. Then, in the mid-1960s, the great experiment of its reintroduction began. The project was initiated by the terrestrial wildlife team of the wildlife branch, a division of the former department of tourism, hunting and fishing. Steps were taken to capture some of the caribou residing north of Sept-les in order to reintroduce a new generation of caribou into the Charlevoix. Between 1966 and 1969, many journeys and several attempts were required to bring back a herd of about 40.
The caribou brought back were kept in pens, or enclosures, in Parc National des Laurentides. When they were old enough to survive in the wild, the calves born into captivity were released into the territory that, in 1981, would become Parc national des Grands-Jardins. Only the juveniles were released as they had not experienced migration and had been immersed in this new territory since their birth. In all, 82 juveniles born in captivity were set free between 1969 and 1972. Their descendants, whose number was estimated at 75 back in 2009, constitute what is now referred to as the Charlevoix herd.
His population, as well as others in Qubec, are experiencing difficulties today. To that end, the government team to re-establish the woodland caribou population (at the Ministre des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune) set up, in 2005, a formal plan to ensure the restoration of the woodland caribou population, a plan designed to propose the appropriate strategies.
SMALL MIGRATIONS OVER THE SEASONS
The Charlevoix caribou makes use of a territory of 3,128 km2, which covers the national parks of Jacques-Cartier, Grands-Jardins and Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivire-Malbaie, the Martres ZEC, the Rserve faunique des Laurentides, and lands belonging to the Sminaire de Qubec.
In the winter, caribou gather in small groups in the open spruce woodland where lichen is plentiful. They feed exclusively on lichen, especially terricolous lichen (on the ground). If that kind of lichen is rare or difficult to reach, the caribou will also incorporate arboreal lichen (found in trees) into their diet.
In the spring, the caribou disperse in the coniferous forests and the wetlands (bogs). In the summer, they travel in small groups, looking for areas with plenty of food (open fields, logged areas, etc.). In addition to food, these open settings likely provide them with the visibility necessary for an easy detection of predators. The warm season allows caribou to vary their diet. They are able to supplement their menu with herbaceous plants such as dwarf birch, shadbush , blueberry, sheep laurel and fungi.
Between mid-October and mid-November, the caribou mate and begin their migration to their winter pastures.
WHO WILL BE THE STRONGEST?
During the rutting season, the caribou gather in large numbers to form harems. It is during this period that the males (bulls) frequently fight among themselves. Their goal is to eliminate the competitors and to impress the females of the herd. The dominant male, who generally has the biggest rack of antlers, will round up between 10 and 15 females for whom it will become the sole stag of the breeding season.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ANTLERS!
Unlike other cervids (white-tailed deer, moose), both the male and female bear antlers that fall off and grow back each year. These bony growths have a velvet covering, irrigated by tiny blood vessels. When the antlers stop growing, the blood flow is cut off, causing the velvet to dry up, which sloughs off in strips. Over time, the antlers become detached and are shed. The male and non-pregnant females shed their antlers around December, after the rut, while the pregnant females keep them until June, after the birth of their calves.
VERY INDEPENDENT EARLY ON
Female caribou give birth to a single offspring per litter. Right from birth, the calf stands up on its legs and begins to suckle, before it starts feeding on lichens and herbaceous plants.
The calf stays with its mother for close to one year.
https://www.parcparcours.com/grands-jardins/fiches/caribou_en.html