Quebec caribou herd readies for baby boom

A caribou herd protected in an enclosure in Quebec is on the verge of a baby boom. The province’s Wildlife Department reports that all 12 of the herd’s breeding-age females are believed to be pregnant. Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) typically give birth in May or June. Wildlife managers put the herd’s 16 caribou in a protective enclosure in February 2022 as part of a plan to prevent isolated herds in the province from dying out. An estimated 5,000 to 10,000 caribou roamed Quebec between 2005 and 2016, but populations have declined due to habitat destruction, industrial activity and an increase in predators that use logging roads to expand their range.

Read more from the Canadian Press.