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Species
Rangifer tarandus (Linnaeus, 1758)
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NCBI
EOL Text
Caribou, and their domestic counterparts - reindeer, have been very important in the cultures of native peoples througout the arctic. Several Siberian, Scandinavian, and American native cultures are built around herding caribou.
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Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Rangifer_tarandus/ |
Caribou, or Reindeer, is the only deer species in which both males and females have candelabra-like antlers. They live in large, migratory herds along the tree line of northern forests, eating mostly grass-like plants and shrubs in summer, and lichen, which carpets the snow-covered forests, in the winter. Getting at winter feed by digging through the snow can lead to intense competition, which may explain why females also carry antlers. During the breeding season, males compete with one another for access to females, using their antlers in jousting matches. They become completely devoted to the rituals of mating, failing even to eat, and losing their built up energy reserves in the process. Females give birth at traditional calving grounds on the open tundra during the spring, after a gestation of seven months. Then they pour all of their energy reserves into nursing their calves for a month. There are more than 2,000,000 Caribou in North America, but they are less successful in the southern parts of their range where they must cope with humans and other predators.
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Mammal Species of the World
More images, video and sound of the Peary caribou, a subspecies
Caribou are found in North America and Eurasia in a large circle around the north pole, this kind of distribution is called "circumpolar". The woodland subspecies of caribou can be found as far south as 46o north latitude, while other subspecies can be found as far north as 80o north latitude. Caribou were once found as far south as Germany, Great Britain, Poland, and Maine (USA), but over-hunting and habitat destruction have reduced their populations to only a portion of their historic range.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); palearctic (Native )
Other Geographic Terms: holarctic
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Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Rangifer_tarandus/ |
More info for the terms: bog, climax, codominant, cover, lichen, lichens, shrub, shrubs, tundra
Caribou are considered part of the climax biota because of their dependence on late successional forests and associated lichen forage [68,101]. Caribou use old-growth and mature coniferous stands across their range [80,97]. Woodlands with sparse overstories of black spruce-paper birch (Picea mariana-Betula papyrifera) or jack pine (Pinus banksiana) and a dominant ground cover of lichens are heavily utilized [57,79,101]. Caribou frequent peatlands, bogs, muskegs, lake shores, and other wetland and riparian areas [37,61,97].
Alaska: Black spruce and white spruce (Picea glauca) in pure or codominant stands with lichen-moss understories are heavily utilized in Alaska [57,103]. Sedge meadows dominated by water sedge (Carex aquatilis), rock sedge (C. saxatilis), and tall cottonsedge (Eriophorum angustifolium) provide year-round forage. Barren ground caribou also utilize willow stands dominated by feltleaf willow (Salix alaxensis), Barclay's willow (S. barclayi), grayleaf willow (S. glauca), tealeaf willow (S. pulchra), and Richardson's willow (S. richardsonii). Grasslands dominated by rough fescue (Festuca altaica) with birch (Betula spp.) and willow (Salix spp.) associates are frequently utilized. Bog birch (Betula glandulosa) dominates some landscapes at 3,000 to 4,000 feet (900-1,200 m), with tealeaf willow and rough fescue codominant at 3,000 to 3,500 feet (900-1,100 m) [103]. Mountains <7,900 feet (2,400 m) in Denali National Park are characterized by shrub tundra dominated by birch and willow [1,18] and alpine zones dominated by sedges (Carex spp.) [1]. High-elevation tundra in Denali National Park is characterized by mountain avens (Dryas spp.) [18]. A mosaic of spruce (Picea spp.)-dominated forests, cottonsedge (Eriophorum spp.)-dominated tundra, and riparian areas with mixed spruce and willow exists below 2,600 feet (800 m) in Denali National Park [1,18].
Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Wilkinson and others [117] identified 5 distinct caribou habitats in the archipelago. Barren uplands are characterized by arctic dryad (D. integrifolia), sedges, willows, grasses, and lichens. Sedge meadows are dominated by water sedge (C. aquatilis var. stans), white cottonsedge (Eriophorum scheuchzeri), and Fisher's tundragrass (Dupontia fisheri). Sand dune habitats are dominated by feltleaf willow, polar willow (Salix pseudopolaris), dwarf fireweed (Chamerion latifolium), pale Indian paintbrush (Castilleja pallida), and grasses. Tundra tussocks are characterized by willows, arctic dryad, sedges, and grasses. Lakes and lake edges are dominated by water sedge, pendantgrass (Arctophila fulva), and false semaphoregrass (Pleuropogon sabinei) [117].
Idaho, Washington, and British Columbia: Western hemlock-western redcedar (Tsuga heterophylla-Thuja plicata) communities are important in to woodland caribou during autumn and early winter [6,36,102]. Mixed stands of old growth Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir (Picea engelmannii-Abies lasiocarpa) are preferred in late winter [6,36]. Caribou occasionally use interior lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) forests [24,36].
Alberta: Black spruce-tamarack (Larix laricina) dominates lowland fens and bogs, while uplands are dominated by white spruce-jack pine-quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) [76].
Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba: Dominant species include black spruce, white spruce, and jack pine [77,80,89,99,101]. White birch, tamarack, quaking aspen, and balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) are common associates [77,80,89,99]. Jack pine is abundant on some upland sites. Dominant shrubs on upland sites include mountain cranberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), bog blueberry (V. uliginosum), velvetleaf blueberry (V. myrtilloides), and bog Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum). Willow, birch, mountain alder (Alnus viridis subsp. crispa), white birch, and tamarack border lakes and streams [80]. Black spruce dominates mature and intermediate bog habitats. Alders (Alnus spp.) and willows form the understory in intermediate bog and bog-forest habitats [97].
Ontario: Star reindeer lichen (Cladonia alpestris), reindeer lichen (C. rangiferina and Cladonia spp.), and spineless reindeer lichen (C. mitis)- rich forests serve as late winter habitat for woodland caribou [116].
Quebec: Alpine zones >3,300 feet (1000 m) are characterized by ericaceous shrubs, lichens, mosses, and graminoids, while subalpine zones 3,000 to 3,300 feet (900-1000 m) are dominated by open white spruce and balsam fir (Picea balsamea) forest [82].
Newfoundland: Balsam fir-dominated forests are heavily utilized [74].
Caribou communicate among themselves through vocal, visual, chemical, and tactile cues. They have a keen sense of smell, which allows them to find food buried deep under snow.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Perception Channels: visual ; acoustic
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Rangifer_tarandus/ |
Rangifer tarandus caribou: Endangered
Rangifer tarandus pearyi: Candidate
Rangifer tarandus eogroenlandicus: Candidate [110]
caribou
reindeer
woodland caribou
mountain caribou
barren ground caribou
Peary caribou
黑龙江,内蒙古
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | The Biodiversity Committee of Chinese Academy of Sciences,2011, EOL China Regional Center |
Source | No source database. |
Comments: Primarily diurnal, feeding crepuscularly.