Caribou

Scientific Name: Rangifer tarandus

Description Habitat Food Predators Reproduction Facts

Description

Caribou are large animals that belong to the deer family. When they are fully grown, males are about 6 to 8 feet tall, and females are about 4 to 6 feet tall. Caribou can weigh from 200 to 700 pounds. Both males and females grow antlers that can be up to 4 feet wide. Every year the caribou shed their antlers and grow new ones. Caribou have very thick brown fur, which helps to keep them warm. The males have a white mane on their chests. The caribou's fur has special hair that can trap air. This helps the caribou float while swimming through the rivers on their annual migration. Caribou have a wide muzzle on their faces and wide hooves. The hooves help them walk through the deep snow. They are excellent swimmers and runners.

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Habitat

Caribou live on the tundra in northern Canada, Alaska, and Greenland. They can also be found in northern China, Russia, and Scandinavia. They live in herds and migrate great distances every year. In late fall and winter, caribou travel to the forests in the southern Arctic, and in summer, they migrate northward to the tundra. Caribou are very noisy and make loud grunting sounds as they travel. When they migrate, caribou use the same trails that their ancestors have used for hundreds of years.

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Food

The main food of caribou is lichen, a small, scaly plant that grows on rocks and trees. They also eat mosses, grasses, tree shoots, mushrooms and sedges. The caribou eats almost all day long

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Predators

Enemies of the caribou include wolves, lynxes, foxes, and grizzly bears. Wolf packs often follow and attack a migrating herd. As the herd scatters, they prey on the oldest, weakest, youngest or pregnant animals. Sometimes eagles will swoop down from the sky and attack young calves. Mosquitoes are a big problem for caribou. Swarms of mosquitoes enter the noses, ears, and eyes of the animals and suck large amounts of blood. Sometimes it drives the animals wild.
Humans have also been enemies to the caribou. Although the Inuits (Eskimos) hunt caribou and use all parts of the animal for food, clothing, and tools, people who hunt caribou for sport have killed many of them. Also, the oil spills and poisonous chemicals left behind by humans working on modernizing the Arctic region have hurt the caribou.

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Reproduction

Caribou mate in September and October and have their babies in May and June. Females return to the same calving grounds on the tundra each year to give birth. They go back to the place where they were born. Since caribou mate for only one year, the mother raises her baby alone.

Caribou have only one baby at a time. The baby is called a calf. A calf can run about an hour and a half after it is born. It must be able to keep up with the migrating herd.

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Other interesting facts

The male caribou is called a bull.
The female is called a cow.
The baby is called a calf.
The life span of the caribou is about ten years.
Caribou's antlers grow forward. They use their antlers like shovels to dig through the snow for food. They also use them to defend against enemies. Rival males sometimes use them to fight.
The caribou has a four-part stomach, which it uses to store chewed food as a cud for later digestion.
When the caribou senses danger, it gives off a special scent that warns other caribou to stay away.
The caribou has a keen sense of smell, but its eyesight is not as good.

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