A Synthesis and Interpretation of the Biology of Woodland Caribou on the Island of Newfoundland

By studying the past and present for Newfoundland caribou herds, this work strives to represent the various caribou populations as living entities engaged in an unending organic engagement with the landscapes, weather and people of Newfoundland. Uniquely, it attends to these relationships with the full expectation that the herds are also engaged in an unending pursuit of one another, operating as one giant organism that periodically divides and fuses its component parts, retreating during times of resource scarcity and high mortality, and expanding as conditions and opportunities improve. The findings presented here are therefore of significant value to the broad scientific community, coursing as they do along the wave crest of modern meta-population theory; and they will offer much as well to those who more specifically seek an understanding of large mammal dynamics. The stature of this work therefore reflects Newfoundland’s long standing commitment to professional wildlife science, which is itself the very signature of professional wildlife management. Science, by definition, is a pursuit of understanding that is retraceable along contours of broadly applicable principles. That Newfoundland governments have for fifty years maintained a commitment to such ideals is a sign of maturity and stature that should be safeguarded at all costs. That we can meaningfully contribute to the world’s collective memory and understanding of wildlife ecology is a position of statesmanship and a legacy of inestimable value.