Responses of woodland caribou to winter ecotourism in the Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve, Canada

We assessed the impact of ecotourist visits during winter on woodland caribou Rangifer tarandus caribou time budgets in the Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve, Canada. We compared the behaviour of caribou during and after ecotourist visits with their behaviour during days without visits. In the presence of ecotourists, caribou increased time spent vigilant and standing, mostly at the expense of time spent resting and foraging. After visits, caribou tended to rest more than during control days. Caribou reduced time spent foraging during ecotourist visits as the number of observers increased. The impact of ecotourists appeared to decrease as winter progressed. Visits were short ((x) over bar = 39.3 min) and caribou never left their winter quarters because of human presence. However, caribou abandoned their wintering area twice in response to wolf presence. Although winter is a difficult period of the year for caribou, our results suggest that with proper precautions caribou in Charlevoix can tolerate ecotourist visits. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.