Jasper Released Five Captive-Bred Caribou Into the Wild. So Far, It’s Working

The first five animals from Jasper’s caribou conservation breeding centre were released into the wild on June 24, marking a major milestone in Parks Canada’s efforts to rebuild one of Jasper National Park’s declining species. Two months later, the first release has produced encouraging early results. 

“If I were to sum it up, the caribou are doing caribou things in caribou places,” said the program’s head caribou biologist Lalenia “Layla” Neufeld. “They seem to have adapted well. They’re in the habitats they should be in. They appear to be eating the foods that they should be eating and navigating all the challenges of that environment.”

Woodland caribou, once abundant throughout North America, were recognized as a threatened species in 2003. The last five caribou in Banff died in an avalanche in 2009; in Jasper, only two of the four herds which existed in 2000 remain. 

One of those herds, located in the Tonquin Valley just south of Jasper Township, is the target for Parks Canada’s Caribou Recovery Program. The primary goal for the program, which is the first of its kind for caribou in North America, is to increase the Tonquin herd from its current estimated population of 43-50 to 200 animals. 

Joining the wild herd

The five caribou spent two weeks in a temporary enclosure near Amethyst Lake, where they acclimatized to their surroundings and transitioned back to a natural diet before their release on June 24. 

Since then, they have spent time both together and apart, as well as with wild caribou. Parks Canada is tracking their movements with GPS collars and observing how they interact with the existing herd, while wild herds are generally monitored by DNA analysis of scat samples. 

The animals were observed with wild caribou within days of their release, Neufeld said, and have since been seen with both male and female wild caribou.

“As far as we can tell, they have integrated fully,” she said.

For Parks Canada, that social integration is particularly important. Joining wild animals gives captive-raised caribou an opportunity to learn behaviours from animals that have spent their lives in the landscape.

“They’ve been observed multiple times with wild animals. That happened within a matter of days after the release. So that was very encouraging,” Neufeld said. “That’s their best chance of survival.”

How the program will reach 200

Conservation breeding is a method for increasing wildlife population by capturing wild animals and releasing their offspring back into the wild. The strategy is relatively straightforward: maintain a breeding herd at the Jasper centre, keep enough females to grow that herd and gradually release young males into the Tonquin Valley.

According to Parks Canada, only about half of all wild caribou born will survive their first year. In captivity, where young caribou enjoy veterinary supervision, protection from predation, and ample available food, those odds are significantly increased. 

Sixteen calves have been born at the Caribou Breeding Centre since 2025; fifteen are still surviving. 

Male calves are released back into the wild when they are between fourteen to sixteen months old, while most female calves will remain at the centre to become part of the breeding herd. Adult males are captured, then released and replaced every few years to support genetic diversity. 

The five caribou released in June included four male yearlings born at the centre in 2025 and one adult bull. 

As the breeding herd grows, so too will the number of calves which can be released each year. Neufeld said the program could eventually release up to around 20 calves each year. 

Where caribou could return next

Once the Tonquin herd has reached its goal number of 200 animals, the program may expand to replenish caribou populations in other areas. 

Banff National Park, where caribou have disappeared from the landscape, is not currently identified as a next step in the program. Neufeld said Parks Canada has not made decisions about exactly where it would go after Tonquin, but that “our initial thought is to repopulate areas within Jasper National Park, since the program is based here.”

Parks Canada has identified other former caribou ranges in Jasper as potential future areas for recovery, including the Brazeau and Maligne ranges. The Maligne herd has been considered extirpated since 2018, while the last three animals in the Brazeau herd were brought to the Caribou Breeding Centre in 2025. 

But “reintroducing caribou to areas that caribou are no longer in is a very different strategy to augmenting an existing herd,” said Neufeld, “so we haven’t quite crossed that bridge yet.”

For now, the five animals released this summer are providing some of the first real-world evidence of whether the conservation breeding strategy can work. And, at least so far, the signs are encouraging.