Little hooves, big hope: The first caribou calves in the conservation breeding program

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A new generation of caribou begins its journey in Jasper National Park

Parks Canada’s Caribou Conservation Breeding Centre welcomed its first calf on May 29, 2025. In the following week, all 7 females who arrived pregnant at the centre in March gave birth. Among them are 3 female and 4 male calves.

At birth, the calves weighed between 7.3 and 10.6 kilograms. Newborn caribou can stand and begin nursing within an hour of arriving in the world! Their moms licking them is a good sign that they are forming a bond, and it helps the calves to start nursing and digesting.

When the calves are 24 to 48 hours old, Parks Canada staff conduct a quick health assessment, which includes weighing them and giving them an identification ear tag. They are closely monitored in the first hours and days to ensure they are nursing, walking and digesting well.

Pregnancy rates in the wild are usually greater than 90%, so it was expected that most of the female caribou brought to the Conservation Breeding Centre would be pregnant. Many calves in the wild die in their first year, so staff are prepared for challenges such as low birth weight, abandonment by a young mother, illness in a weak calf or other birthing complications. However, we expected the females would calve successfully and that most calves would survive, especially when receiving care and protection at the Conservation Breeding Centre.

Fortunately, all the calves born this year were healthy. After years of monitoring caribou in the wild, and then waiting and watching for them in the new Conservation Breeding Centre, actually seeing caribou calves born was a special moment for everyone involved.