The caribou is a member of the deer family. Caribou and reindeer are the same species. Caribou are larger than reindeer.
The word caribou means snow scraper. Its wide, sharp hooves help it dig in the snow for food. At shoulder height, a caribou is between two and five feet tall. Its fur is dark brown or gray.
Both male and female have very large antlers with many branches. Caribou are the only members of the deer family in which females grow antlers.
Caribou eat lichen, moss, and grasses. Lichen looks like a plant but it is algae and fungi growing together. A male may eat up to ten pounds of food a day. Its sensitive nose can sniff out food under five feet of snow.
Caribou herds are on the move between winter and summer. They travel old well-marked trails. They are very strong swimmers. They can sprint 30 miles per hour. A caribou calf can run within 90 minutes of its birth. It must do so to keep up with the herd!
Arctic Wildlife - Arctic Studies Center. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://naturalhistory.si.edu/arctic/html/caribou_reindeer.html
Caribou Reindeer. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/caribou/
Caribou Species Profile, Alaska Department of Fish and Game. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=caribou.main
Markovics, J. L. (2011). Caribou and reindeer, too. New York, NY: Bearport Pub.
Wilson, D. E., & Ruff, S. (1999). The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals. Washington [etc.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
APA Style: Caribou. (2020, March). Retrieved from Facts4Me at https://www.facts4me.com
MLA Style: "Caribou." Facts4Me. Mar. 2020. https://www.facts4me.com.