In fact, the boreal caribou is an ecotype of the woodland caribou subspecies. There are 180,000 in Quebec. Its population is growing. Where is the emergency?
The boreal caribou ecotype has been coping with disturbances likely for over 30 years. In the sector that concerns us, the one that has consequences to us, the Pipmuacan sector, the boreal caribou have already been coping with 80% disturbance for over 30 years.
As far as the populations in the Pipmuacan sector are concerned, a census in 1999 indicated that there are 135 individuals. Another census in 2012 showed that there were 298. The last inventory in 2020, which was a baseline inventory by the way, showed that there were 225. What conclusions can we draw from that? It is hard to draw any major conclusions, but we do not get a sense of urgency.
There are concerns having to do with the rates of recruitment in the population, in other words the number of fawns per 100 females. Caribou experts and biologists who make this observation say that we need to be extremely careful when it comes to these numbers and how they are calculated because the females tend to run into the woods when they hear helicopters during the census taking. That is why a calculation is used to extrapolate the number of females. There is the risk of having a biased sample. Scientists who study the caribou tell us to be careful when it comes to this data.