What happens to Jasper's animals when wildfire rips through their home?

Jasper National Park is beloved for its breathtaking mountain landscapes — and the special opportunity to see iconic animals such as elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, grizzly bears and, with luck, endangered woodland caribou. 

But this week, as thousands of visitors and locals alike fled raging wildfires that ripped through the park and its town, some might wonder what's befalling the park's wild residents.

Conservationists say wildfires are part of the natural cycle in the region and most animals are adapted to handle them. But some species at risk — in particular, the park's threatened woodland caribou — are less resilient as their habitats and populations have been eroded by human activity.

"I'm really fearful for what this fire means for them," said Tara Russell, program director at the northern Alberta chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. The local chapter formed half a century ago to advocate for better conservation in Jasper National Park.

Only two caribou herds still hang on in the park — the Brazeau herd has fewer than 10 caribou, while the Tonquin herd has about 50 with only around 10 breeding females, according to Parks Canada.

Physically, the caribou are capable of escaping the fires, Russell said. Traditionally, they would have faced wildfires from time to time and would have had other habitat to go to.

"And now they don't really," she said.

Russell says industrial development, including forestry, mining, and oil and gas, has disturbed most of the caribou's habitat outside the park.

"There's really so little left of their habitat to maintain that resiliency to the occasional fire," she said. On top of that, she said, climate change has made wildfires both more frequent and extreme.

Russell noted that caribou populations have faced steep declines across Canada, with many living in remote areas to begin with. This makes Jasper's herds all the more special.

The Tonquin herd "live on a very popular hiking trail, and that many people have magical experiences with," she said, recalling her own sighting of eight bulls during a backpacking trip last summer.

"We could see them all bedded down in the moss having a rest. And about 10 minutes later, as we followed the trail, we heard them kind of pop out through the bushes and they all crossed right in front of us. So that was really special to me."

Parks Canada had been working on a captive breeding plan for Jasper's caribou to boost their numbers. It had been constructing a facility for that purpose, which was to open this fall.

Chris Johnson, a professor of conservation biology at the University of Northern British Columbia, visited the facility three weeks ago and watched workers building fences.