Rapid decline in Canada's caribou herds is 'deadly serious' Don't miss. Some Aboriginal groups have been instrumental in protecting the habitat of certain caribou populations, for example in Tuktut Nogait and Vuntut national parks. A decline from 1950 to 1970 was followed by a surge in numbers that peaked in the 1980s then dropped again in 2000. Changing weather conditions, including ice cover-ing the grasses and sedges the caribou eat, along with wolf predation and continued hunting by Inuit, are blamed for an 84 percent decline in the population since the 1960s. Changing weather conditions, including ice cover-ing the grasses and sedges the caribou eat, along with wolf predation and continued hunting by Inuit, are blamed for an 84 percent decline in the population since the 1960s. Ten of the 51 herds of caribou in Canada, made up of animals like this one seen in a German zoo in September 2016, have a stable population, while 20 have seen their numbers dwindle Male caribou are called bulls and weigh around 150kg, while females are called cows and weigh around 90kg. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) names the peary caribou and the Atlantic-Gaspésie population of the woodland caribou as endangered. With its distinctive tall and flat antlers, the caribou is one of Canada’s most recognizable species, inhabiting the Arctic as well as boreal and mountain regions. The report is described as the most comprehensive to date, and uses data stretching back to the 1970s. Alaska has predominantly the barren-ground subspecies and one small herd of woodland caribou, the Chisana herd, which moves into Canada in the Wrangell-St. Elias area of Southcentral Alaska. white Peary caribou (R. t. pearyi) of Canada’s High Arctic islands. Reports show that there were low numbers of caribou in the Northwest Territories during the 1920s, followed by a population peak in the 1940s. Twenty are in decline and not enough is known about 21 of them to even estimate their population trend. Recovery Strategy for the Woodland Caribou, Boreal Population 2011 iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This recovery strategy focuses on the Boreal population of Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), hereafter referred to as boreal caribou, assessed in May 2002 as Threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). There are multiple cumulative environmental and human-caused stressors that are contributing to Peary and barren-ground caribou decline. ... A map of caribou herds on display at a briefing on caribou populations.