YELLOWKNIFE, Northwest Territories, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Rapid development of oil, natural gas and forestry facilities in Canada might cause the caribou population to seriously decline, an environmental group says.
The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is set to release a report that says habitat destruction could cause the decline of Canada's remaining 200,000 caribou, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Monday.
"What scientists have concluded is Canada's woodland caribou population is undergoing what they term slow moving extinction," said Tim Gray, spokesperson for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. "If we can't even manage to maintain one of our most iconic species in our forests, what else does that tell us about what's going on out there?"
In fewer than 40 years, all the caribou in Alberta could be totally eliminated, according to Rick Schneider, researcher with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.
