Caribou in Canada Across the country, caribou are struggling to survive in their ever-changing habitat. Facing
a modern world, they are losing the battle.
Photo: istockphoto.com/Jaroslaw Schegietz
Caribou subspecies: Barren ground caribou
The most numerous subspecies in Canada is the barren ground caribou
(Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus). Males stand approximately
1.1 metre tall and weigh 100 to140 kilograms. In comparison to body
size, barren ground caribou have the biggest antlers. Aside from
a white muzzle, the face is a darker brown than the rest of the
body. In summer its coat is light brown that transforms to a sandy-beige
colour in winter. Barren ground caribou have distinguishing white
patches of fur along the neck, underbelly, beneath the tail and
above the hooves. The velvet grows in dark brown. They have an average
lifespan of 4.5 years with a maximum of 15 years.
These caribou can be found across the Northwest Territories and
Nunavut up to Baffin Island. Eight main populations make up the
barren ground herd: Bathurst, Cape Bathurst, Bluenose East, Bluenose
West, Beverly, Ahiak, Qamnirjuaq and Porcupine. In the 1960s,
the herds were classified based on where they migrated to in winter;
however, years later they were reclassified based on their calving
grounds.
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details.
The barren ground caribou is well known for its large migration.
Snow and the need to find food dictates when the caribou begin
migrating. During winter bulls and cows stay in separate herds
and calves stay with their mothers — all settle in the forest,
which provides shelter and an abundance of lichens beneath the
snow. With the arrival of spring, the herds rejoin and make their
way across the tundra to the calving grounds. Cows separate from
the herd to calve and later rejoin the bulls for summer. The tundra
provides caribou with various plants and grasses to feed on. After
the autumn mating season, the caribou again disperse for the winter.
In the 1990s, northern industrialization led to studies that
monitored the impacts of mining activities on these herds. By
2000, local residents helped to set up co-management boards to
help address the issues affecting caribou populations. In 2004,
the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC)
categorized the barren ground caribou as of “special concern.”
NOTE:
Grant’s caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) are
a distinct subspecies; however they are essentially barren ground
caribou. Consisting mainly of Porcupine caribou, the herd inhabits
the northwest corner of the Yukon and northeastern Alaska. Grant’s
caribou have spring and fall migrations and do not currently have
a status with COSEWIC.
