Caribou

Caribou - Reproduction

Picture source:
BioPix

During the fall rut, Caribou males compete for access to females. Battles can leave them injured. Females become mature at 28 months of age. Females give birth to calves every year, provided that the nutrition is not scarce. A single calf is normally born 228 days after fertilization. Two calves are rare. Caribou calf mortality is high within the first 30 days after their birth.

Caribou - Caribou and Reindeer

These two mammals belong to the same species, though they look different. While Caribou are large, wild animals, well adapted for the harsh arctic tundra, Reindeer are smaller, domesticated in northern Eurasia around 2000 years ago. Some Arctic peoples depend on the Reindeer for food, clothing and shelter.

Caribou - Diet

The Caribou have to keep moving to find the food they need. Herds migrate very long distances in the period between summer and winter. In summer, Caribou feed upon leaves of willows, sedges, tundra plants, and mushrooms. In September, their diet consists of lichens, dried sedges, and small shrubs.

Caribou - Migration

There are a number of theories explaining why Caribou migrate. Scientists tend to link the Caribou's need to move with such factors as food, insects, predation, and weather. New territories open up a more variable food supply for the migrating herds. Migration allows these mammals to give birth and raise their young away from predators, such as wolves. Movement also helps Caribou escape from some biting insects and parasites.

Caribou - General Information Links

Picture source:
BioPix

A Note About the Deer Family - Contains description of various species of deer, including the Caribou.

Alaska Reindeer/Caribou - Description, and pictures.

Bering Land Bridge National Preserve - Description, evolution and range, Caribou life history, status, ecological concerns, and management.

Biology of Mountain Caribou - The scientific description of the Mountain Caribou.

Caribou - Tuttu - Rangifer tarandus - Article by Elmer Jackson.

Caribou and Reindeer - Description of these two species. Pictures.

Caribou Characteristics - Description, habitat, and distribution of Caribous.

Caribou Description - Life history, food habits, movements, and hunting.

Caribou in General - Information on size, life span, physical appearance, distribution, diet, social organization and behavior, and conservation.

Caribou Report - Concern about the dependence of Mountain Caribou on economically important older Western Red Cedar and Hemlock forests for arboreal lichen in British Columbia.

Caribou - Pictures

Picture source:
Blue Planet Biomes © 2000
Elisabeth M. Benders-Hyde

Caribou, Raindeer - General characteristics, reproduction, ecology and behavior, distribution, conservation status, and more information on the Caribou.

Caribou, Woodland - Information on status, life history, habitat conservation plans, and much more.

Caribou/Reindeer Links - Find more about Caribous following these links.

Caribou: Frequently Asked Questions - Find out everything you wanted to know about this species.

Caribou: Images - Contains classification and images.

Caribous - Brief information on Caribous.

Deer - Pictures, characteristics, antlers, behavior, kinds and importance, and more.

Description of the Reindeer of Scandinavia and Northern Russia - General information, Reindeer husbandry, the Reindeer in the Sami culture, and more.

Fred, Ginger, and Molasses - Fast facts, and pictures.

Hooved Animals: Caribou - Contains description of the animal, status, information on breeding, habitat, range, and more.

Journey to Other Worlds - Caribous in history.

Mammals Section of Ontario Nature - Contains brief information on Caribous.

Mammals: Caribou - Interesting information on the species by Harry M. Walker.

Nordic Council for Reindeer Husbandry Research - NOR actively promotes contact between reindeer husbandry and the research community within the Nordic countries and between the Nordic researchers themselves.

North American Reindeer - Images of Caribou, hunting Caribou and building snow houses, and more.

Caribou - Pictures

Picture source:
Canadian Wildlife Service

Pine Ridge Lodge - Find out more about the most widely distributed mammal in Canada, and Newfoundland's woodland variety is the world's most Southerly herd.

Porcupine Caribou Herd - Read about this large population of migrating Grant's Caribou.

Protect the Arctic from Oil Drilling - Overview and summary of Caribou-oil field relationships in Alaska's Arctic.

The Arctic Tundra Ecosystem in Northeast Alaska - Scientific article and pictures.