Jasper keeping close eye on resident caribou after habitat loss

Caribou can be seen at the side of a road. (Susanne Jutzeler/Pexels)

Jasper National Park says it will be keeping a close eye on its caribou herds as it continues to repair and rebuild its upcoming breeding centre.

The Caribou Conservation Breeding Centre, located about 30 kilometres south of the Jasper townsite, saw significant damage to the surrounding habitat during this summer's wildfire.

While the administration, storage and barn buildings were undamaged, the park said almost all forested parts of the site were burned, including fencing and feeding structures.

Construction was expected to be complete by the end of the year, ready to welcome caribou in the spring. The park remains unsure on how that timeline will be impacted.

"Construction will likely be delayed by only a few weeks," Parks Canada said in a press release.

"We are consulting with partners and experts on restoring the burned habitat, so the pens are safe and supportive for future caribou residents."

Caribou – featured on Canada's 25-cent coin – are an important ecological and cultural species across the country. However, they are vulnerable due to their need for large ranges of connected mature forests.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Northern Alberta Chapter (CPAWS) reports that some Alberta woodland caribou herds have seen up to an 80-per-cent decline due to decades of industrial development in boreal forests.

As of 2023, Parks Canada estimated Jasper's Tonquin herd numbered around 50, while the Brazeu were counted at three or four – down from about 10 the previous year.

The park said the changes to the landscape could put those herds at further risk, as the new habitat is more favourable for species like deer, which then attract predators like cougars and wolves.

While many of the wildlife cameras used to monitor resident species were destroyed, the park hopes to have them all replaced by the spring.

"In the wake of the large-scale landscape changes caused by the fire, monitoring how deer populations respond over the next few years will be key to understanding how predator-prey dynamics may change," the park said.

In the meantime, GPS data from collared wolves will offer insight into where monitored packs are spending time in relation to the caribou population.

Construction on the Caribou Conservation Breeding Centre began in 2023. It is the first of its kind for caribou in Canada, and will help with breeding efforts to increase wild populations.