Woodland caribou in Canada's boreal forest are threatened by industrial development including oil sands extraction, seismic lines, and roads that fragment their habitat and increase wolf predation pressure.
Caribou in industrially disturbed landscapes experience chronic predation stress as wolves use linear disturbances to travel efficiently into previously inaccessible habitat. Pregnant females that cannot access traditional calving grounds in undisturbed areas may calve in suboptimal habitat with higher calf mortality. The stress of constant predator pressure impairs foraging efficiency and reduces body condition in a species adapted to stable seasonal landscapes.