The boreal forest — the world's largest land biome at 1.2 billion hectares — stretches across Canada, Russia, Scandinavia, and Alaska. Its wildlife faces accelerating threats from logging, industrial development, and climate change that is warming the boreal 2-3x faster than the global average.
Moose — the largest deer species — are abundant in boreal forests but face: vehicle strikes (thousands killed on roads annually in Canada); hunting; winter tick infestations (warming winters allow larger tick populations); brain worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis) causing neurological disease in animals that contact infected white-tailed deer expanding northward; and summer heat stress as temperatures exceed moose thermal comfort zones. Moose with heavy tick loads spend enormous energy grooming, lose hair patches, and can die from blood loss and cold exposure.
Canada lynx depend almost entirely on snowshoe hares (10-year population cycle). At hare cycle lows, lynx face starvation — emaciated animals that cannot hunt effectively, reduced litter survival, and elevated mortality. This natural welfare oscillation is amplified by trapping: lynx are legally trapped for fur in all Canadian provinces, with quotas poorly matched to population levels. Leghold traps cause injuries and trap-related stress over extended holding periods before check.
The boreal forest is North America's "bird nursery" — 300+ species breed there, including 3+ billion individuals. Industrial logging reduces old-growth dependent species. Oil sands development in Alberta's boreal has fragmented critical habitat. Climate change is shifting species composition northward, forcing birds to adapt to novel conditions. Each displaced breeding individual represents a fitness cost that accumulates across billions of migratory birds.