ORONO, Maine -- A mysterious illness that killed a significant number of newborn caribou is a major setback to re-establishing a native Maine caribou herd, biologists said Thursday.
Mark McCullough, director of the Maine Caribou Project, said the loss of the young caribou to the disease, and the loss of other animals to other causes, has seriously hurt the project and may force biologists to make some significant changes.
'It has been a disappointing few weeks, ' McCullough said. 'It does raise questions about the wisdom of the nursery approach and we may have to evaluate where we are at and consider some future alternatives.'
McCullough and the other biologists have pursued the nursery herd approach since the caribou were first brought to Maine from Newfoundland in December 1986.
A breeding herd of caribou was established at the University of Maine campus. Young caribou have been born to the herd in the past three springs and some of them have already been released into the wild at Baxter State Park.
More caribou were to be released until the entire herd, including the original breeding animals from Newfoundland, were living in the wild.
But the recent illness may change the direction of the program.
'That is our largest concern,' McCullough said. 'We lost those seven calves and we have been unable to diagnose the illness. The animals developed diarrhea and then died very suddenly. We rushed a number of them down to Tufts University (in Massachusetts) where there is a wildlife veterinary program, but they died.'
The calves died between June 24 and July 7. McCullough said no symptoms of the disease have been seen since. Tests conducted at Tufts have not shed any light on the nature of the disease, he said.
In addition, the program has suffered losses in the population of animals released into the wild last May. McCullough said 12 animals were released at Baxter State Park but three have died -- one in a rockslide, one after being attacked by a coyoyte and one apparently due to a brainworm parasite that normally affects moose and deer.
McCullough said project biologists plan to meet next week to see how the project should proceed.
'It is a good time to evaluate where we are and to explore some other options,' he said.
Maine originally had a large caribou herd of its own. But the herd's numbers dwindled because of overhunting and changes in the caribou's environment. The last native Maine caribou was seen on Mt. Katahdin in 1913.
