Woodland Caribou
Rangifer tarandus caribou
Caribou are a member of the deer family and are adapted to cope with harsh winter conditions. Caribou have large concave hoofs that allow them to travel in deep snow conditions. Unlike any other member of the deer family, both females and males grow antlers. Woodland caribou linger in small groups and don't migrate over large distances as do their northern cousins, the barren ground caribou. Within the woodland subspecies there are two ecotypes, mountain woodland caribou and northern woodland caribou. This distinction is based largely on habitat use and behavior. Today, the woodland caribou is one of the most critically endangered mammals in the U.S., with only a few mountain caribou found south of the Canada border each year.
Height Average 4 feet tall at the shoulder
Length 6 feet
Weight
250-400 pounds; males are larger than females
Lifespan 10-15 years in the wild.
Diet
Staples Ground and tree lichens. It takes 80 to 150 years for a forest to grow enough lichens for caribou.
Also known to eat Shrubs, grasses and willows
Population
In the entire world there are seven subspecies of caribou, totaling approximately 5 million individuals. Two subspecies have already been driven to global extinction. Today caribou can be found in parts of North America, Russia and Scandinavia. In the United States, two subspecies can be found. The better known, Rangifer tarandus granti, or barren ground caribou, total 950,000 and occur throughout Alaska, and can also be found in northern Canada. Rangifer tarandus caribou, or woodland caribou, have been reduced to one tiny population in the U.S., in far northern Idaho and northeastern Washington. This population, known as the International Selkirk population, is extremely rare with only about 40 individuals left. These last caribou in the continental U.S. are a type of woodland caribou known as “mountain caribou” because they migrate to high alpine peaks in the winter. The worldwide population of mountain caribou has plummeted recently to fewer than 2000, in small, isolated populations at severe risk of elimination.
Range
Historically woodland caribou inhabited the forests of the Northern United States from Maine to Washington State, but have been reduced to one small herd of the mountain caribou ecotype in the United States, in the Selkirk Mountains of northern Idaho, eastern Washington and southern British Columbia. This last U.S. herd is reduced to approximately 35 members that tend to stay mostly in the Canadian part of its range.
Worldwide, mountain caribou are found only in northern Washington and Idaho and British Columbia. The northern ecotype of woodland caribou have a broader distribution in Canada.
Behavior
Mountain caribou are well-known for their ability to use tree growing (arboreal) lichens as a major food source. As a result they are most often associated with mature coniferous forests that provide substantial quantities of tree lichens.
Reproduction
Mating Season
Early to mid-October
Gestation October to early June
Number of offspring 1 calf
Threats
Woodland caribou have been pushed toward extinction by poaching, logging and roads, which fragment and damage caribou habitat and bring increasing numbers of predators and motorized vehicles into caribou country. Snowmobiles pose a particular threat to the few remaining mountain caribou given their improved capacity to penetrate remote areas at high speeds. To avoid these machines, caribou— already struggling to survive winter’s extreme conditions—must expend precious energy.
Legal Status/Protection
**The Endangered Species Act requires the US federal government to identify species threatened with extinction, identify habitat they need to survive, and help protect both. In doing so, the Act works to ensure the basic health of our natural ecosystems and protect the legacy of conservation we leave to our children and grandchildren.
The Woodland caribou was listed as Endangered in 1984.
For additional information
Visit Defenders' Imperiled Species: Woodland Caribou pages for more information about what Defenders is doing to help.
U.S. Forest Service
Mountain Caribou Project
