Mountain caribou

Mountain caribou are one of the most endangered mammals in North America. All of the world’s remaining mountain caribou live in the mountains of British Columbia and Alberta and parts of Washington and Idaho. 

The globally unique mountain caribou is a variety of woodland caribou that has adapted to the special conditions of BC’s wet, mountainous forests. Mountain caribou migrate up and down the mountainsides, from the valley floors in spring and fall to the high forests in winter and summer. In winter, when other food is buried, they stand with large snowshoe-like feet on top of the snow to feed on the lichens that grow on branches and canopies of old-growth trees.

Mountain caribou - David Dodge

INDICATORS

Mountain caribou require unbroken tracts of old-growth forest for food and for security from predators. Because of this tight link, mountain caribou are considered indicators of the ecological integrity of these old-growth forests.

AT A LOSS

Southern mountain caribou numbers in BC’s interior temperate rainforest have been steadily declining, from approximately 2200 in the late 1990s to approximately 1200 today, mostly due to human-caused habitat changes. What may have once been a single, large mountain caribou population is today fragmented into as many as 18 subpopulations with little or no interaction. We know that small, disconnected populations are much more prone to extinction.

WHAT WE’RE DOING

We represented the mountain caribou in the federal courts in 2012. Part of a larger Species at Risk Act case, the courts ruled that the federal government was not doing enough to protect at risk species like the mountain caribou and ruled that they must do more. The Mountain Caribou Recovery Team continues to work towards recovery for this magical creature.

Find out more by reading the Mountain Caribou Education Booklet.

 

 


Mountain caribou news

We’re calling on Canada and British Columbia to protect southern mountain caribou habitat in B.C. and save our last deep-snow herds. Use our pre-written letter to add your voice to the movement. Logging has no place in the wild and globally significant forests that these iconic animals rely on.Read more 
I’m standing at the edge of a clearcut where a towering ancient cedar and hemlock rainforest used to be. One giant cedar tree remains in the middle, a lonely monument holding the memories of creatures who used to call this place home. Only a year ago, this clearcut was a forest full of life.Read more 
Mountain caribou are struggling to survive. This endangered species is on the decline, with loss of their habitat hurting overall population numbers. Through Wildsight's…Read more 
Deep in the heart of BC’s  Inland Temperate Rainforest a logging plan threatens ancient and globally rare forest in the Seymour River area…Read more 
When a caribou moves, a tendon rolls over bones in its foot creating a unique clicking sound.  A few years ago on a trip…Read more 
Kimberley – B.C. groups are releasing new evidence of ongoing logging and pending cut permits in proposed old growth deferral areas in the province. Images…Read more 
Read more news

Join The Team

Want to protect wildlife, clean water and wild spaces? Volunteer with us! Wildsight volunteers are a very special group of people who give generously of their time to stuff envelopes, attend rallies, help run events, put up posters, keep tabs on forestry practices in their communities and participate in citizen science initiatives.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES