Caribou Herd Up For Adoption

Woodland caribou were once so numerous they grazed along the Pend Oreille River, and Kalispel Indians hunted them for their hide and meat.

Now, the Selkirk herd is almost extinct and a conservation group is launching an adopt-a-caribou fund-raising program for research and recovery.

Meanwhile, Lisa Shipley, an associate professor at Washington State University, is looking for someone to adopt four woodland caribou. The caribou, approximately 7 years old, have been used for research.

“These animals were brought in and raised so we could look at nutritional stuff,” she said. The animals came from zoos and the wild. For one study, the caribou were set loose in the Selkirks and followed to see what they preferred to eat.

They were also penned in different types of forest stands to see how they behaved. They seemed most at ease in open stands such as old-growth forests, with little underbrush.

The Kalispel Tribe has expressed an interest in adopting the research herd for educational purposes. The tribe already has a large band of buffalo, and enough land to keep the caribou as well, Shipley said.

“They could be used to educate the public on the plight of the caribou,” Shipley said. “I want them in a place where native people or anybody can learn about them.”