CALGARY – A captive breeding program at the Calgary Zoo will aim to increase the number of woodland caribou in Alberta and B.C.’s national mountain parks.
The federal environment minister’s parliamentary secretary says it’s a critical first step to protecting the endangered species.
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Michelle Rempel says there were more than 800 caribou in the mountain parks 25 years ago, but that number is now less than 250.
She says the breeding program will add to small herds in Jasper, Mount Revelstoke and Glacier national parks and reintroduce the species to Banff.
British Columbia plans to provide donor animals.
A long-awaited recovery plan from Environment Canada released last summer said caribou herds in northern Alberta and parts of British Columbia were in dire shape.
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