Killing nearly 500 wolves in a year failed to protect endangered caribou – study

• British Columbia performed cull as part of caribou recovery plan
• Focus on wolves ignores complex web of factors, researchers say

With their ability to glide silently through snow drifts and vanish into forests, mountain caribou have been called the grey ghosts of western Canada's alpine region.

But in recent years, a steep drop in their population has raised fears the knobby-kneed ungulates may disappear forever.