Caribou

Quick Take

• Caribou have a bizarre menu item that would shock most animal lovers, and it involves their own kind.
• Newborn calves can do something that would embarrass an Olympic athlete, and they manage it within hours of birth.
• One scientific name repeats itself, and the reason says a lot about how the animal got its labels.
• Caribou and reindeer are the same animal, yet one place on Earth decides which name applies.

Caribou, which are sometimes referred to as reindeer, are notable for their antlers, which grow back bigger every year. They have unique stomach bacteria that allow them to eat many different types of food. The name caribou covers several different subspecies, but hunting has led to the extinction of two of them.

5 Incredible Facts

• Both males and females have antlers.
• The stomach of a caribou has four chambers.
• The color of caribou fur largely depends on where they live. Lighter colors are associated with northern regions, while caribou with dark coats live in southern areas instead.
• The scientific name of the caribou translates to “reindeer reindeer.”
• Caribou are often hunted for their meat.

Scientific Name

The caribou, which goes by the scientific name “Rangifer tarandus,” is part of the Mammalia class and Cervidae family. Caribou go by several names, including reindeer, qalipu, and tuktu.

The species name “tarandus” was chosen by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, while the reindeer genus “Rangifer” was named by C. H. Smith in 1827. Rangifer is Latin, and it literally means “reindeer.” Tarandus, however, comes from a New Latin translation of the ancient word “tárandos,” which means reindeer as well. This species is called reindeer only in Europe/Asia and among semi-domesticated animals in North America. Otherwise, they are caribou.

History and Species

Although the reindeer is famously associated with the Baltic and Scandinavian countries and with the Siberian and Mongolian regions, the caribou actually evolved in North America and spread to Eurasia. Fossils of caribou in Alaska and the Yukon can be dated to 1.3 to 1.8 million years ago. All caribou/reindeer throughout the world are considered to be the same species, but there are 7 subspecies:

• Barren-ground (Rangifer tarandus granti) – the main type in Alaska, also in Canada
• Svalbard (R. t. platyrhynchus)
• European (R.t. tarandus)
• Finnish forest reindeer (R.t. fennicus)
• Greenland (R.t. groenlandicus)
• Woodland (R.t. caribou) – one small herd in Alaska, also in Canada
• Peary (R.t. pearyi) – in Canada

Appearance

The caribou, better known as a reindeer, has massive antlers that start right at the brow. Both females and males have antlers, and caribou are the only cervid species where both sexes do so. The antlers begin to grow in March or April for males, but the females will start their growth in May and June. The antlers feature a velvety texture that is deep enough to blend with the rest of their body. The rack can ultimately reach a height of 3 feet.

Among deer species, caribou hooves are unique. They are cloven with four toes, two of which are called dew claws, that spread widely to provide support. This structure helps the caribou to walk easily on many surfaces, including soft tundra and snow. Caribou hooves are the widest and roundest of any deer, and they actually change size according to the season. The feet also function as paddles when caribou swim, and they are also excellent swimmers.

The color of the fur of this mammal largely depends on the season, the subspecies, and the individual animal. In the north, the fur tends to be white to blend with the snow, which is typical of the Peary caribou. Darker fur is seen in southern areas, and the darkest caribou of all tends to be the boreal woodland caribou.

Caribou are the only deer species to have hair covering from head to toe, even covering the nose and growing under the feet to help give traction. Their fur is actually in two layers for better warmth and protection.

The species will also determine how large the animal is. Females are usually smaller than males, starting at 64 inches in length, 33 inches in height, and about 180 to 260 lbs. in weight. The smallest reindeer comes from Svalbard and has a height of just 31 inches. Males will vary more among the species, starting at 350 lbs. However, the biggest species have males that can be well over 700 lbs. That’s slightly less than the weight of an Arabian riding horse.

Behavior

The social behavior of caribou largely depends on the locations and species. Reindeer occur in both migratory and sedentary populations, and their herd sizes vary greatly in different regions.

Those caribou that migrate will cover about 1,500 miles annually with impressive speed as they search for food. During migration, the animals can become susceptible to parasites, which can leave them very weak. Parasites can vary from one species to the next, but migration can cause them to lose their weakest caribou during travel.

Caribou can run up to 50 mph (80 kmh). Even the baby caribou can outrun an Olympic runner when they’re barely 24 hours old. Herds that migrate during the springtime could have up to 500,000 caribou, though autumn migrations are much smaller.

Reindeer are the only type of deer that have been partially domesticated. Some cultures use them as work animals (like pulling a sleigh). They are, of course, an important source of food, clothing, and shelter among Arctic natives.

Habitat

Caribou previously were found only in certain locations in Scandinavia, Mongolia, Siberia, northeastern Europe, Greenland, Russia, and some parts of China. However, they can also be found in North America as far north as Alaska and in most northern areas of Canada, and they once ranged as far south as Maine before disappearing there in the early 1900s. Animals that live further north tend to have a white coat that conceals them in the snow, while southern locations feature a dark brown color that shields them in the woods.

These mammals can live in the tundra or the forest, though migration and climate change can be blamed for their lower numbers across large areas.

Predators and Diet

What eats Caribou?

Although the caribou is a rather large animal, it still has many predators. In some areas, the caribou is hunted for its meat by humans. In fact, this is part of the reason that caribou disappear in some locations.

The calves are at the greatest risk of predators since golden eagles and wolverines tend to go after them. However, polar bears and brown bears will go after reindeer of all sizes. Caribou of all ages are also at great risk from bloodsucking insects like mosquitoes, black flies, and the reindeer nose botfly.

What do Caribou eat?

Caribou fall under a unique category of ruminants, meaning that their stomach has a total of four chambers. They are the only large animal that can use lichen to make glucose. However, their primary diet consists of willows, birches, grasses, and other plant life. They’ll even eat the antlers of other caribou before they are shed to get supplementary nutrients. Some will even eat mushrooms.

To find plants in the snow, caribou are equipped with hooves that are hollowed out so that they can be used like scoops to dig for food.

Caribou are not really carnivorous unless they have to be. However, if their springtime nourishment isn’t quite as plentiful as they’d like, they’ll look for what’s available (like rodents, fish, and eggs).

Reproduction, Babies, and Lifespan

During the fall (from late September to early November), caribou will mate. The males will battle each other to win the females, locking their antlers as they push against each other. This is called being in rut or performing ruts.

The victorious males may mate with as many as 20 females, but they will lose a lot of their weight in the process. Caribou have a gestation period of 228 to 234 days (about 7.5 months).

Females generally take on only one mate at this time, siding with the more dominant males. They are incredibly careful while choosing where they will give birth, looking for an area that generally doesn’t have many predators. The herd follows the doe as she looks for the right place to give birth to a single calf, which typically weighs about 13 lbs.

Babies are called calves, and they can run within two hours of birth. They learn to forage as early as 45 days, although they will nurse from their mothers until the autumn when they are about 3 to 4 months old.

Females live longer than males, but caribou typically live 10 to 15 years in the wild.

Population

Since caribou consist of many different subspecies, there are a few subspecies that have already gone extinct. As recently as 2015, reindeer were on the Vulnerable list with the IUCN since they have seen a decline of 40% over about three generations (21 to 27 years). The species remains listed as Vulnerable today. However, the massive population of the caribou specifically ensures that the main species is not at risk right now.

The Rangifer tarandus dawsoni has already gone extinct, and the Rangifer tarandus pearyi is one of the endangered species.