Common name:
Woodland caribouSize:
Full grown males weigh about 400 lbs. Full grown females
weigh about 250 lbs. Bulls stand 5 ft. high at the
shoulder, and measure 7 ft. long.
Status:
The woodland caribou's status is endangered.
Scientific name:
Rangifer taradus.
Family:
Mammal - deer.
Habitat:
Most of the woodland caribou stay in a forest habitat all
year. Some caribou migrate 80 km or more between their
forest foothills (where they live in the winter) and
Alpine range (where they live in the summer).
Habitat location:
Their habitat is located in the northwestern U.S. and
southwestern Canada.
Number known to exist:
The number known to exist is 7,000 or less.
Food:
The woodland caribou's primary food is ground and tree
lichens. They also eat shrubs, grasses and willows as
well.
Reproduction:
Caribou mate in October. The calves are born in June. A
cow doesn't mate until she's two and a-half.
Threatens of life:
Logging, coal mining and oil and gas exploration have
reduced the caribou's habitat. When forests are logged
moose, elk, and deer move in. When there is more prey,
wolves move in. Caribou suffer great losses because they
are most vulnerable to wolves.
Unusual facts:
Caribou usually only have one calf per year. They also
are the only deer in which both sexes have antlers.
Caribou Magic
Wild caribou,
land louse, long legs
With the great ears,
And the rough hairs on your neck,
Flee not from me.
Here I bring skins for soles
Here I bring moss for wicks
Just come gladly
Hither to me, hither to me.
sung by Orpingalik,
legendary Inuit shaman
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