Related Biomes
Caribou
Caribou, Rangifer tarandus
Caribou, or reindeer, are Holarctic deer that are currently found in the northern portions of North America, Europe and Asia. In North America, they are found in Alaska, Canada and along the Canada-U.S. border, including northern Idaho, northeastern Washington and southeastern British Columbia. During historic times, caribou could also be found in the northern U.S. from Minnesota to Maine, but they disappeared from these areas during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Caribou are well-adapted to the extreme cold of Arctic environments, and their presence in more southernly deposits from the late Pleistocene serves as a good indicator of colder climates during this time.
Male caribou in Alaska. Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Dean Biggins
Length: females: 1.4-1.9 m (4.6-6.2 ft), males: 1.6-2.1 m (5.2-6.9 ft.);
Weight: females: 63-94 kg (139-207 lb), males: 81-153 kg (179-337 lb)
Physical Description:
Caribou are robust deer that are well-adapted to Arctic climates. For protection against the extreme cold of the Arctic, these animals have a thick, woolly undercoat and a stiff overcoat consisting of long, hollow guard hairs. They also have broad, flat, deeply cleft hooves that allow them to travel across boggy ground and snow. Both males and females have antlers with long sweeping beams (upper points) and smaller brow tines (lower points) that extend over the face.
Caribou occupy boreal and sub-boreal forests as well as arctic tundra, and they utilize a range of habitats within these areas. They prefer old-growth and mature forests, particularly those adjacent to wetland and riparian areas, as well as high elevation grasslands, alpine and sub-alpine open forests, scrub habitats and barren habitats characterized by large stretches of bare ground. In winter, they favor habitats with shallow snow cover, which allows them to forage more easily.
Caribou are herbivores who feed on grasses, sedges, mushrooms and shrubs. During the winter months, these animals forage primarily on lichens, particularly reindeer moss, which they reach by digging feeding craters in soft, shallow snow.
Caribou are fairly nomadic animals who travel in large herds, frequently over long distances, and migrate between summer and winter habitats. During the fall breeding season, males use their antlers to joust with one another and win the right to mate. The following spring, pregnant females give birth at established calving grounds on the open tundra.
During the Wisconsinan, caribou had a much more southerly distribution than they currently enjoy and ranged from Alaska south to Tennessee and east to Virginia.
Caribou did not go extinct at the end of the Pleistocene, but instead followed the shrinking glaciers, and boreal forests, northwards towards the arctic.
Caribou mandible from Valentine Bog, Kendall Co., IL
Caribou remains have been recovered from late Pleistocene sites across the Midwest. Many of these sites cluster along the edges of the terminal Pleistocene ice sheets, such as central and eastern Wisconsin (Zelienka Caribou, Oostburg Caribou, and Wauwatosa Caribou), northeast Illinois (Valentine Bog), northern and central Indiana (Kolarik and Christensen Bog), northern Ohio (Sheridan Pit and Huffman Bog) and eastern Michigan (Fowlerville Caribou, Holcombe Beach, and Minden City Caribou).
- Caribou is the only species of deer in which both the males and females have antlers.
Kurtén, B. and E. Anderson. 1980. Pleistocene Mammals of North America. Columbia University Press, New York.
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