Woodland caribou are an elusive inhabitant of the boreal forest. They are rarely seen because they require vast, old growth wilderness forests to thrive. Woodland caribou are very sensitive to any disturbance in the landscape which might destroy their primary winter food source, lichens, and make them more vulnerable to predators such as wolves.
The Slate Islands offer a unique opportunity to observe a true symbol of Canada's wilderness. Caribou arrived in the Slates sometime in the early 1900's presumably by swimming (caribou are excellent swimmers, we saw some swim to an island 1.5 to 2 km away without hesitation) or walking across the ice. Population densities grew to unprecidented levels due to the remote, relatively undisturbed location and lack of predators.
Of course Tracey & I didn't realize how abundant they were. When we first arrived we found the perfect campsite but could not understand why the apparent spot to put our tent was surrounded by a makeshift fence.
After seeing this encounter and then being awaken in the night by heavy footsteps, sniffing and grunting (thank god we knew there were no bears on the islands) we realized the barrier was so that caribou did not trip over the tent strings during the night.
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