Caribou restoration program experiments with feeding wild herd to boost survival

As woodland caribou across B.C. face extinction, a wildlife biologist in Prince George is experimenting with a new way to boost their numbers: he's feeding them.

"Better nutritional conditions should increase survival," explained Doug Heard, a wildlife biologist leading the program. "It allows you to accumulate more body fat. And then the females, of course, are pregnant and are developing fetuses, and so better nutritional conditions should help —  maybe —  produce bigger, more viable offspring."

He's working with a herd that had about 100 caribou in it 10 years ago and is now reduced to just 50.

Every couple of days, Heard or one of his partners from the McLeod Lake Indian Band distributes nutritional pellets in a series of covered feeding troughs between Prince George and Mackenzie.

The pellets are a combination of corn and grains optimized for caribou by Hi-Pro Feeds in Grande Prairie, Alta.

The pellets give the caribou a guaranteed food source and they allow Heard to keep an eye on them as they eat and grow.

He's set up wildlife cameras that are triggered by movement, allowing him to photograph the caribou throughout the season and get an accurate count of how many are in the herd, along with the survival rates of newborns.

"Once you make it to 12 months old, you tend to survive to 15 [years]," he explained.

Heard's program is just one of many caribou recovery attempts being funded by the province and various partner groups. He says with so many other experiments happening at the same time —  including reducing the number of moose and wolves in the area —  it will be difficult to tell exactly what's working if caribou populations do come back.

"We've sacrificed experimental techniques and are trying to do the most we can for caribou," he said.

Other programs include keeping wild caribou penned to protect them from predators. One even raises caribou in captivity.

What makes Heard's experiment unique is that the caribou continue to live a relatively normal life.

"They're still eating all-natural foods and spending time in natural areas," he said. "I'm obviously manipulating their behaviour, but they're still doing natural things here."

To hear more from Doug Heard, as well as the unique 'snapping' sound of woodland caribou, click on the audio labeled "Listen to the 'snaps' of woodland caribou north of Prince George".

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