Dear Editor,
This past June, I spent 10 days on the Northern Peninsula visiting communities from Deer Lake to L’Anse Aux Meadows. My main purpose (besides taking in the breath-taking scenery) was to question the local residents about the coyote-caribou situation.
During my conversations, some interesting information came forward:
1. Two guides, each with 40 years experience in central Newfoundland, reported that they did not see a single caribou in the 2009 season.
2. Every pond, in the Rocky Harbour area, gave up at least one caribou carcass at spring thaw.
3. Two separate incidents of coyote attacks on adult bull moose were witnessed at Main Brook and Straitsview in the past year.
4. A sealer reported that a colleague had shot a coyote on an ice floe last year.
5. In every town and village that I visited, people voiced their concerns about the safety of their children playing outside in the winter. Reason? Coyotes had been observed within the town limits. Pets have gone missing.
All of these observations are symptomatic of the proliferation of the coyote.
Now for my questions:
First question — The woodland caribou numbers are down. Why?
Invariably, the first word spoken was “coyotes” with one person combining this word with the idea of fluctuating population cycles.
A conservation officer (CO) offered a more convoluted answer. “The decline of the caribou is occurring all over the world. This is not unique to Newfoundland. The wolf was extirpated a long time ago from this island. They aren’t involved. The bear population is increasing and they get a few caribou. Then, there are eagles. We have a coyote population. However, the main cause is brainworm which was brought in by Dr Grenfell’s reindeer.”
Here, folks, are all of the spin cards that the authorities will use to explain away the problem. Let’s focus on the brainworm card.
The reindeer arrived in 1908 and were absorbed into the caribou population over time until their numbers were estimated at 90,000 individuals in 1996. This happened over a period of 88 years in spite of brainworm.
A new predator entered the ecosystem in 1985 – the eastern coyote. Over the next 11 years, they established themselves, aided by the fact that no open season was declared on them.
Government census numbers tell us that the caribou population fell from 90,000 in 1996 to 37,000 in 2008. That is a decline of five per cent each year.
Licence allocation numbers indicate that the population has fallen further to 22,170 caribou for the 2010 season. That’s a 20 per cent, per year, drop in each of the last two years.
The rate of disappearance of the caribou is accelerating towards extinction.
Second question - Will the $15.3 million program to study the coyote-caribou relationship solve this problem?
The predominant answer was “no”. One person described the program as a “farce”. The CO was allowed to take the Fifth Amendment.
Third question — How will the people of Newfoundland react with the demise of the caribou?
The general response — Anger.
Ladies and gentlemen. We have a new animal to add to the endangered species list. It’s called an incumbent MHA on the government side of the House.
“It’s easy to criticize. How about a solution,” you may ask?
Simple, a $100 bounty is placed on all island coyotes, effective immediately.
This is nothing new for your province. You have used very generous bounties before when there was an outbreak of rabies in foxes. It worked. Do it again.
You have less than 1000 days to solve this. Millions of dollars in future revenues hang in the balance.
To conclude, allow me to digress.
A successful basketball coach in the USA, Pat Riley, was once asked by a sports writer: “What is the difference between a good player and a great player?”
His answer? “All the great players listen.”
Sincerely,
John Kaufmann, BSc
Brantford ON
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