 research since 2003, the calf survival rate has increased somewhat, said Mahoney.
From 2003 to 2005, the survival rate was from zero to five per cent.
“We need about 45 to 50 per cent survival of calves to get our population rising again,” he said.
Now some herds are at 35 per cent, Mahoney said, but while the numbers are rising, they still aren’t enough.
The improved survival rate did not occur as a result of direct intervention, Mahoney added.
“One could safely and honestly say that the improvement that has come in calf survival has happened, to an appreciable extent, by natural factors.”
That brings Mahoney back to one of the central questions of the strategy: how did the calf survival rate become so low in the first place, and what changed to reverse the trend?
The answer may lie in the massive amount of data that has been collected in the past few years. The caribou strategy is moving into a data-analysis stage and it is hoped some answers will be found.
The results will be compiled in a report to the provincial government that is expected to be completed in eight to 10 months, said Mahoney.
What they do know about the caribou population, though, provides some hope for the future.
“We still have the healthiest populations of woodland caribou that exist,” said Mahoney.
“It’s a long way from the 95,000-100,000 we had, but these animals that we have today, the (30,000 or so), they are healthy, they look very good now, their condition is excellent and their pregnancy rates are good. They’re producing good numbers of calves, so the population is healthy.”