food & range
Caribou on the Barren-grounds
Barren-ground caribou travel huge distances each year. Caribou are thought to travel further in a year than any other land mammal. They can cover up to 5000 km, as they wander the tundra looking for good forage. Caribou move 20 to 50 km a day in migration, at a speed of about 6 km per hour. Their range extends from the northern edge of the boreal forest to the Arctic coast, some 600 km north.
Adult caribou eat three to five kilos a day of leaves, shrubs, sedges, fungi and lichens. In the autumn, caribou favour muskeg where the sedges are plentiful. In spring and early summer, caribou take to the eskers and sandy areas to escape clouds of mosquitoes and flies. In winter, caribou paw through the snow to find lichens, and browse lichens growing in trees.
The caribou is a member of the deer family. Both males and females grow antlers, and shed them each year. Males usually shed their antlers after the rut. Bull caribou racks can measure a full 1.5 metres along the curve of the main beam, and up to a metre in width. Females shed their smaller racks after giving birth in the spring.
An adult caribou weighs about 140 kg, and stands almost a metre high at the shoulder.
Caribou have broad, splayed hooves with sharp edges for good footing, and for digging through the snow in winter. Their hooves serve as snowshoes. In summer, their broad feet propel caribou quickly across rivers and lakes, and hollow hairs in their outer coat keep them floating high.
