Assessing the role of grizzly bears in the decline of woodland caribou
Gordon Stenhouse, fRI Research
GL 15-ERPC-02
Wolves are thought to be the primary cause of caribou mortality and ultimately responsible for provincial caribou declines. However, despite many years of research, the effect of other predators, particularly grizzly bears, on caribou populations represents a significant knowledge gap and may have implications for provincial wildlife management and for both caribou and grizzly bear recovery efforts.
The goals of this project are to determine to what extent grizzly bear predation might be influencing caribou populations in west-central Alberta using existing datasets supplemented with additional key data not currently available, and to develop new techniques to measure and monitor bear predation levels on caribou populations.
Policy Issue
Biodiversity: Species conservation; grizzly bear, mountain caribou
Knowledge Gap
mountain caribou behavioral responses to oil and gas developments, predator use of anthropogenic features associated with oil and gas developments
Herds Studied: Alberta; Mountain: Redrock Prairie Creek, A La Peche