Labrador & Newfoundland

Eastern Canadian forests, Eastern Canadian Shield taiga, Newfoundland Highland forests, South Avalon-Burin oceanic barrens, Torngat Mountain tundra

A study was conducted to determine the prevalence and geographical distribution of Sarcocystis spp. infecting 2 subspecies of caribou (Rangifer tarandus) inhabiting Newfoundland and Labrador and its potential definitive hosts. Muscle samples of caribou were obtained, primarily from hunters, and feces of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and wolves (Canis lupus), from trappers, and Husky dogs (Canis familiaris), from owners. Histological sections of muscle and flotation methods for feces were used for parasitic detection. Sarcocystis sp. infected more than 50% of Barren-Ground Caribou (R. t. tarandus) from 4 locations in Newfoundland, but it was significantly greater in the north, where 99% of woodland caribou (R. t. caribou) from Labrador harbored the infection. Sporocysts were observed in 27 of 32 red foxes from eastern and northern Newfoundland, whereas 15 of 15 wolves and 22 of the 38 Husky dogs were infected. Wolves and red foxes probably acquired the infection through scavenging, and Husky dogs, from meat they were fed.

Eastern Coyotes were first documented in central Labrador in 1995 and have recently been recorded in coastal Labrador and at three additional locations in central and western Labrador. Here we document additional records indicating range expansion and the possibility of an established population. We also examine the future management of the species in Labrador and its possible effect on this northern ecosystem.

Inuit normally start hunting seals around mid- to late-April after their pups have had time to grow underneath the snow. (Fisheries and Oceans Canada)