Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
bison
Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised.
Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...
to Newfoundland was made, using Brunette Island as a test site; the attempt did not prove successful; the rocky landscape and sheer cliffs on the island were significantly different from the wide plains to which the bison were adapted.
With more success, wildlife biologists continued to use Brunette as a site for wildlife observation and a breeding ground for
Arctic hare
The Arctic hare (''Lepus arcticus'') is a species of hare highly adapted to living in the Arctic tundra and other icy biomes. The Arctic hare survives with shortened ears and limbs, a small nose, fat that makes up close to 20% of its body, and ...
,
caribou
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
,
ptarmigan
''Lagopus'' is a small genus of birds in the grouse subfamily commonly known as ptarmigans (). The genus contains three living species with numerous described subspecies, all living in tundra or cold upland areas.
Taxonomy and etymology
The ge ...
, and
moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
. The lack of large predators on the island allowed the populations to expand as far as food resources would allow. At times the island has been opened to hunters.
From October 12-23, 2016, Mack McGowen, a native of Tyler, Texas, lived alone on Brunette Island and streamed the experience live on Facebook in a documentary titled "Castaway Live.""Cold, alone and streaming: Texas man shooting survival documentary on Brunette Island" ''CBC News'', Oct 16, 2016 by Ryan Cooke
Mercer Head on Brunette Island continues to be the site of a navigational light.