|
|
Fast Facts:
-
In Europe and Asia, caribou are known as reindeer. They are the only species of deer in which both sexes bear antlers.
-
Natural threats to caribou include avalanches, wolves, wolverines, lynxes, and bears. The exploration for oil and natural gas, global warming, coal mining, and logging all threaten their habitat.
-
The hooves of caribou are large and flat, helping them walk easily on top of the snow. They also are helpful in swimming.
-
A large part of a caribou's diet is made up of reindeer moss, which is found in great abundance in Arctic lands. It also serves as pasture for moose and musk oxen.
|
| Scientific Name
|
Rangifer Tarandus
|
|
| Classification
|
Phylum Chordata, Class Mammalia, Order Artiodactyla, Family Cervidae
|
|
| Status
|
These mammals are listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act in many regions. Over hunting, loss of habitat, and a number of other factors influence population of this species. The Caribou population is estimated to be around 5 million, worldwide. The largest herds of Caribou are found in Alaska, Canada, and Russia.
|
|
| Range
|
Having a nearly circumpolar distribution, some subspecies of Caribou can be found as far south as 46 north latitude, while other subspecies occur as far north as 80 north latitude.
|
|
| Habitat
|
Caribou inhabit arctic tundra and sub-arctic forest regions. Most animals stay in forests year-round. The Mountain Caribou migrates over 80 km between their forested foothills in winter and alpine areas in summer.
|
|
| Diet
|
Caribou eat grasses, sedges, herbs, mosses, lichens, and fungi.
|
|
| Size
|
The head and body length is 4 to 7 feet, with shoulder height at 34 to 55 inches.
Weight: 130 to 700 pounds, with females usually smaller than males.
|
|
| Lifespan
|
Females generally have longer life spans than males, some over 15 years. Bulls typically live less than 10 years in the wild. Average life expectancy is 4.5 years.
|
|
| Location
|
|
|
|
Print Fact Sheet
|
Caribou
|
|
|
Conservation
Humans have made a great negative impact on the Caribou species. These animals have been heavily hunted. Caribou have been extinct in most parts of Europe since the 1600s. One of the major drastic impacts on their population is exploration for oil and minerals in Canada. However, domestic herds of reindeer still flourish in the Old World, in Canada, in Alaska, and in 48 states of the United States.
The economic and cultural impact of caribou to the areas they occupy and the people who live there is enormous. Caribou have been the mainstay for people on the Porcupine range for upwards of 20,000 years. They are used for food, clothing, transport, tools and weapons. They play a part in the religious beliefs of many tribes.
Special Features
- The antlers of the female are thinner and less branched than the male's, which are very large and asymmetrical. Old males lose their antlers in winter, and females lose theirs when they give birth during the summer. They regrow each year under a layer of fur called velvet.
- Caribou have front teeth only on their bottom jaws. There are molars on both top and bottom.
- Mosquitoes are a great problem for caribou. Mosquitoes appear when the weather is warm and calm. They can cause the caribou to lose weight due to blood loss and inability to feed. To escape, the caribou move to higher and dryer ground or to shallow salt-water areas. They also bunch up in large groups.
- The hooves of caribou are large and flat, helping them walk easily on top of the snow. They also are helpful in swimming.
- They have poor eyesight, thus have to locate the food with their keen sense of smell.
Social Structure & Behavior
Breeding and Care of Young
Males do not gather females in harems. They pursue females in heat. Duels between males are rare. Mating usually occurs in August and September. After a gestation period of about eight months, a single calf is born. It can start following its mother within minutes. There is a very strong bond between calves and their mothers. They can recognize each other by smell and by the sounds they make. Young calves separated from their mothers are not adopted by other caribou mothers. They normally die. After the calves are born, the herd comes together on the summer range and stay there until the first winter storm in the fall. The first storm stimulates them to migrate toward their winter range.
|
