Wildlife agents investigate 'shocking' death of endangered Gasp caribou

Wildlife agents in Quebec's Gasp region are investigating the death of an endangered caribou who was found eviscerated.

A hunter discovered the caribou in the Gaspsieprovincial park, about 30 km south of Sainte-Anne-des-Monts on Oct. 26and reported it to the local wildlife office.

The animal's skin and antlers were in place, but its organs and innards had been removed.

"We were shocked. We're trying to understand why this animal was slaughtered, evisceratedand abandoned," Paul Montpetit, a lieutenant with the provincial wildlife protection office in New Richmond, told CBCNews.

Dwindling herd

The animal, a woodland caribou of the mountain ecotype, is part ofa small herd that roams the park.

According to the federal government's Species at Risk Public Registry, the isolated population in the parkhad up to 1000 head of caribou in the 1950's, with a steady decline over decades.

In 2007, there were about 250.Montpetitestimatedtoday there are only 75 caribou left.

He saidevery caribou counts.

"It's very serious. If the numbers continue to decline and decline and decline, we could find ourselves with no more of this species in the area," Montpetit said.

The province classifies the species as threatened and the federal government classifies it as endangered. It's forbidden to harm the animals or damage their habitat.

$20,000 fine

Montpetitsaidpeople found to have killed vulnerable animals can be fined up to$20,000 for a first offence.

He saidinvestigators are unsure of the motive for the killing, but that local hunters are generally respectful of vulnerable species and follow the rules.

"We're certain that someone somewhere heard or saw something, and we'd like to have this information," Montpetitsaid.

He's asking anyone with information to contact the ministry's anonymous poaching tip lineat1-800-463-2191.