A caribou walks through a grassy field.

Did you know that the southern populations of woodland caribou in British Columbia and Alberta are in dire peril? As a proud supporter of caribou conservation efforts, WPC is closely connected to this important mission through Executive Director Lance Woolaver’s role as Vice-President of the Caribou Conservation Alliance Board of Directors. The Caribou Conservation Alliance is a Canadian nonprofit organization committed to the conservation and recovery of caribou. They unite caribou conservationists and promote the strategic integration of ex situ tools (in human care) with existing in situ (in the wild) caribou recovery initiatives.

This year, World Caribou Day celebrates caribou as ecosystem engineers. Through their grazing, migrations, and daily movements across forests, mountains, and tundra, caribou help shape the landscapes they inhabit.

  • Their trails become pathways used by other animals, helping to connect habitats across vast distances.
  • Caribou help shape plant communities through grazing and trampling, influencing which plants grow and where.
  • As they migrate, their droppings return nutrients to the soil.
  • They are an important prey source for animals like wolves.
  • And their carcasses benefit scavengers like ravens, eagles, bears and foxes.

When caribou thrive, so do entire ecosystems!

To learn more about caribou, conservation initiatives and World Caribou Day Events, head to https://caribouconservationalliance.org/world-caribou-day-2026