The Caribou (Rangifer Tarandus), also referred to as a
reindeer, is a mammal of the order Artiodactyla and a native of Asia,
Europe, Greenland and North
America. Members of the deer family, caribou roam in herds and
migrate during the summer.
Caribou are very large animals with the female weighing
anywhere from 130 to 370 pounds and the male weighing as much as 700 pounds.
They measure between 60 and 80 inches in height when full grown. Both sexes
grow antlers which are among the largest antlers of the deer family.
Other distinguishing physical characteristics of the caribou
include four chambered stomachs for digesting plant cellulose. They have very
sensitive noses that warm up the cold air they breathe in making them ideal for
their tundra habitat. The hooves of caribou change with the seasons, being soft
in the summer months and hard and cutting in the winter months to allow for the
maximum traction in different weather conditions.
Herbivores by nature, caribou eat leaves, grass and reindeer
moss although they have been known to feed on bird eggs and lemmings when face
with starvation conditions. Caribou perform record breaking migrations
traveling an average distance of 3,100 miles annually.