Press Release
Service Announces Two Caribou Species May Warrant Protection under the Endangered Species Act
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) today announced two subspecies of caribou, the Peary caribou and the Dolphin and Union caribou, will undergo an in-depth status review following receipt of a petition to list them as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The two species inhabit islands in the far northern Arctic regions of Canada.
On September 15, 2009, the Service received a petition from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which reported potential threats to the caribou, such as the present and future destruction of habitat, alterations to offspring production in conjunction with changing plant phenology and forage availability and a decrease in sea ice, particularly citing climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.
Learn more about climate change as the most significant threat.
An amended petition was submitted on May 14, 2010, and provided supplemental information to the original petition. The Service has concluded the petition presents substantial scientific information warranting a comprehensive status review and is soliciting all available scientific and commercial data.
Today
On September 15, 2009, the Service received a petition from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which reported potential threats to the caribou, such as the present and future destruction of habitat, alterations to offspring production in conjunction with changing plant phenology and forage availability and a decrease in sea ice, particularly citing climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.
Learn more about climate change as the most significant threat.
An amended petition was submitted on May 14, 2010, and provided supplemental information to the original petition. The Service has concluded the petition presents substantial scientific information warranting a comprehensive status review and is soliciting all available scientific and commercial data.
Today
