December’s End

As this month’s series of Facebook posts on reindeer concludes, I hope you’ve gained a deeper appreciation for this extraordinary species. Over 100,000 people have followed these posts in December, discovering the wonders and challenges reindeer face in today’s world.

When we think of reindeer and caribou, we often imagine vast herds migrating across the endless tundra of the holo-Arctic regions. Yet few are aware of the South Selkirk caribou—a herd that, for thousands of years, migrated across the southern Canadian border into Washington and Idaho.

Sadly, this herd—the last wild caribou in the contiguous United States—is now on the brink of extinction. Once part of a thriving population of southern mountain caribou spanning the Pacific Northwest, the South Selkirk herd has been decimated by habitat loss and human activity.

In 2009, the herd numbered about 50, living in a habitat stretching from British Columbia to Washington and Idaho. By 2016, their numbers had dropped to just 12, despite decades of conservation efforts. By 2018, only three animals remained, and the following year, a single female was all that was left.

Today, urgent measures are being taken to protect this lone survivor and to restore what was once a robust and vital herd.

As humans, we are but one of millions of species inhabiting this planet. Each species—no matter how small or seemingly insignificant—is a masterpiece of nature, a vital thread in the tapestry of life. Every one of them is worth saving.

N. Isaac Bott, DVM