THE EARLY HISTORY OF WOODLAND CARIBOU (Rangifer tarandus caribou) IN BRITISH COLUMBIA by David J. Spalding Wildlife Bulletin No. B-100 March 2000 THE EARLY HISTORY OF WOODLAND CARIBOU (Rangifer tarandus caribou) IN BRITISH COLUMBIA by David J. Spalding Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks Wildlife Branch Victoria BC Wildlife Bulletin No. B-100 March 2000 “Wildlife Bulletins frequently contain preliminary data, so conclusions based on these may be sub- ject to change. Bulletins receive some review and may be cited in publications. Copies may be obtained, depending upon supply, from the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Wildlife Branch, P.O. Box 9374 Stn Prov Gov, Victoria, BC V8W 9M4.” © Province of British Columbia 2000 Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Spalding, D. J. The early history of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in British Columbia (Wildlife bulletin ; no. B-100) Includes bibliographical references : p. 60 ISBN 0-7726-4167-6 1. Woodland caribou - British Columbia. 2. Woodland caribou - Habitat - British Columbia. I. British Columbia. Wildlife Branch. II. Title. III. Series: Wildlife bulletin (British Columbia. Wildlife Branch) ; no. B-100 QL737.U55S62 2000 333.95’9658’09711 C00-960085-X Citation: Spalding, D.J. 2000. The Early History of Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in British Columbia. B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Wildl. Branch, Victoria, BC. Wildl. Bull. No. 100. 61pp. ii DISCLAIMER The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the B.C. Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks. In cases where a Wildlife Bulletin is also a species’ status report, it may contain a recommended status for the species by the author. This recommendation is the opinion of the author and may not necessarily reflect that of the Wildlife Branch. Official designation will be made by the Wildlife Branch in consultation with experts, and the data contained in the status report will be considered during the evaluation process. iii ABSTRACT Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) have ranged throughout the mountains of British Columbia for approximately 10,000 years, arriving quickly behind the retreating ice of the last ice age. Today their numbers and distribution are reduced, even from early historical times. There are three distinct groups, or ecotypes: the northern ecotype (relying heavily on terrestrial lichens for food), the mountain ecotype (feeding more on arboreal lichens than their northern counterpart) and the boreal ecotype, few in number and restricted to the lowlands of the extreme north-east of the province. Northern caribou are found in the Northern Boreal Mountain, Boreal Plains, Sub-boreal Interior, Central Interior and Coast and Mountain ecoprovinces. Their numbers and distribution in the Northern Boreal Mountains probably changed little over historical times, at least until about 1970; elsehere, however, northern caribou have experienced a decline in numbers and a reduction in distribution. Mountain Caribou are found in the Southern Interior and Southern Interior Mountains ecoprovinces, and in the south-east portion of the Sub- boreal Interior and on the eastern edge of the Central Interior ecoprovinces. The decline in Mountain Caribou numbers and distribution has been more pronounced than in the northern ecotype, particularly in the Okanagan and throughout the Kootenays. Boreal Caribou have probably changed little in number or distribution during historical times. The initial series of declines in Caribou numbers began around the turn of the century in the extreme south-east of the province and ended in the early 1940s in the Cariboo. The evidence suggests a combination of over-hunting, often in combination with wolf predation, caused these initial reductions. Following control of hunter harvest and wolf numbers, Caribou began to increase slow- ly. However, by the 1950s and 1960s, habitat degredation and habitat loss were of growing importance and Caribou never increased to pre-decline levels. Dawson’s Caribou (Rangifer tarandus dawsoni) arrived early on the Queen Charlotte Islands, probably 9–10,000 years ago, either by crossing on a land bridge or swimming a narrow channel. A slowly chang- ing climate, particularly during the last 2000 years, created an environment unsuitable for Caribou and that sub-species is now extinct. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have received help from many in the preparation of this report. Susan Stephenson, David Hatler, Dale Seip, Trevor Kinley, John Youds, Jim Young and Bruce McLellan read an earlier draft and provided con- structive comments and new observations. Raymond Demarchi, Dennis Demarchi, Ralph Ritcey, David Low, Jim Hatter, Pat Martin, Bob Lincoln and Tom Bergerud all gave help in the form of encouragement, observations I was unaware of, or new sources to investigate. David Nagorson provided access to the Royal British Columbia Museum’s copies of field notes kept by early museum collectors in British Columbia, both Canadian and American. As always, historical records in the British Columbia Archives and Records Service have been invaluable and I extend my thanks to that Service; and Kristin Karr, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks did the map work, for which I am grateful. The Queen Charlotte Island Caribou have been a challenge and I received assistance from experts in several fields and I gladly acknowledge their help: John Clague with geology and the last ice age, Steve Acheson with Queen Charlotte Island archaeology and Haida history, David Nagorson with ideas on island populations as well as help with both the museum specimens and taxonomy, Yorke Edwards with his inter- est in the Charlotte Caribou as well as editorial suggestions. The British Columbia Archives and Record Service gave permission to use the photo of White and Yoemans with the Caribou they collected in 1908. I would also like to thank Dr. Ian McTaggart-Cowan who gave encouragement quite early on. Finally, I would like to acknowledge Ian Hatter’s role in this study. Ian not only provided financial support from the Wildlife Branch, Ministry of the Environment, Land and Parks, but also offered encour- agement, scientific advice and editorial assistance. Production of this report was made possible through the support of the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund (HCTF). My thanks. v TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................11 2.0 METHODS ..........................................................................................................................................12 3.0 PREFERRED HABITAT .....................................................................................................................14 4.0 RESULTS ..........................................................................................................................................14 4.1 Northern Caribou ...........................................................................................................................14 4.1.1 Northern Boreal Mountains Ecoprovince...........................................................................14 4.1.2 Boreal Plains and Sub-boreal Interior Ecoprovinces..........................................................17 4.1.3 Coast and Mountains Ecoprovince .....................................................................................10 4.1.4 Central Interior Ecoprovince ..............................................................................................10 4.2 Mountain Caribou..........................................................................................................................16 4.2.1 Southern Interior Ecoprovince............................................................................................16 4.2.2 Southern Interior Mountains Ecoprovince..........................................................................17 4.2.3 Sub-boreal Interior Ecoprovince.........................................................................................29 4.3 Boreal Caribou...............................................................................................................................29 4.3.1 Taiga Plains Ecoprovince....................................................................................................29 5.0 DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................................................30 5.1 Distribution ....................................................................................................................................30 5.2 Abundance .....................................................................................................................................30 5.3 Changes in Abundance ..................................................................................................................30 5.3.1 Northern Caribou ................................................................................................................30 5.3.2 Mountain Caribou ...............................................................................................................33 5.3.3 Boreal Caribou....................................................................................................................34 5.4 Threats to Caribou . .......................................................................................................................34