The Nation - News from April 5, 1989

A huge moving van filled with straw hauled eight caribou to a remote site in Baxter State Park near Millinocket, Me., in efforts to establish a herd to replace the one that died out more than 80 years ago. The sedated caribou, all 1 or 2 years old, were taken to a special three-acre area surrounded by fencing. Officials said once the caribou become comfortable in their surroundings the fencing will be removed and the animals will be free to roam. Officials of the Maine Caribou Transplant Corp., the nonprofit group that runs the project, said they would move seven more animals to the pen today. The animals are the offspring of 24 caribou brought to Maine from Newfoundland in 1986. The original caribou have been kept at the University of Maine at Orono. Caribou project officials hope to release a few animals every spring until all of the caribou are in the wild.