VANCOUVER, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Scientists are exploring the possibility of moving a herd of caribou to Banff National Park in Canada's province of Alberta to replace those wiped out in an avalanche last spring, a media report said Tuesday.

    The avalanche occurred north of Lake Louise killed three caribou, or reindeer, as they are called in Europe and Asia, leading the actual extinction of the herd. Scientists described it as one of the first large mammal extinctions of an animal in Canada in a national park.

    Officials of Parks Canada, which manages national parks across the country, are considering caribou translocation, which means to bring the animal from neighboring province of British Columbia or elsewhere, to Banff, Canada's oldest national park, the Canadian Broadcasting Cooperation said.

    They are monitoring elk populations -- the main prey of wolves -- to see whether wolf populations will be high as well. Jesse Whittington, a wildlife biologist with Parks Canada, said that elk and wolf densities are much lower now than before, "so we think conditions are much more favorable for successful caribou translocation now than they were five or 10 years."

    The Banff caribou herd numbered about 30 at its peak, but the animals started dying off and the herd's rate of reproduction dropped. When the herd dwindled to about 10, it was placed on the threatened list.

    Scientists believe that there are about 16 caribou herds across the province of Alberta, some of which are at high risk of extinction under the current development plans.