Caribou: The Real Reindeer

Caribou sounds like something wild and exotic, but it is an animal we have all been familiar with since childhood. A caribou is the reindeer we’ve seen in countless holiday films about Santa Claus and Rudolph. When domesticated, we call them reindeer, but when roaming wild in their natural habitat of the Arctic and Sub-arctic regions, we call them caribou.

Historically, their range of habitat was much wider but they currently live in Norway, Siberia, Greenland, Alaska, Canada with a small number located in the Cairngorms region of Scotland.

Unlike the deer that live in other climates, both male and female reindeer grow antlers, though the male’s antlers tend to be larger. Reindeer have a unique feature to their noses which includes turbinite bones designed to warm the air before it reaches their lungs. These special bones increase the surface area inside of the nostrils in order to facilitate the air-warming.

Another interesting adaptation of caribou is that their hooves adjust to the seasons to allow for better traction depending on travel conditions over the tundra. In the summer the tundra is soft and wet so the foot pads become spongy, and in icy conditions the footpads retract and become hard, allowing the rim of the hoof to cut ice and provide traction.

While largely feeding on mosses, grasses, willows, birches, sedges and even the occasional mushroom, caribou will also eat lemmings, arctic char and bird eggs for protein. Mating season is September to November with the birthing season in May or June. Males lock antlers to fight over females.

Caribou can travel up to 3,700 miles per year and run at speeds between 37-50 miles per hour. They are also good swimmers, and some migratory patterns require them to.