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Woodland Caribou |
Scientific:
Rangifer tarandus caribou L. Description:
Height 1.05 - 1.2 m (3.5 - 4 ft) at the shoulder. Antlers are grown by
both sexes. Coat is brown or greyish-brown in the summer, lighter belly
and white on underside of tail and hoof edges with rounded cloven
hooves. Winter coat is light grey, with dark brown areas on the head,
back and front of limbs. The lifespan of caribou is 15 years. Males:
Weight 180 kg (350-400 lbs); prominent white neck mane, large palmate
antlers (spread 1.5m or 5 ft). Females: Weight 135 kg (250-300 lbs); less prominent antlers and neck mane; antlers kept throughout the winter. Calves:
Weigh 5
kg (12 lbs) at birth; light brown, not spotted. Reproduction:
Two
year old cows start bearing one calf per year. Calving occurs late May
to early June. Gestation period is 7.5 months. Calves can follow their
mothers a few hours after birth, start grazing at 2 weeks and wean at
one month. The rut occurs from mid-September
to early November. Habitat:
Boreal
forest and taiga. Feed on ground vegetation (grasses, sedges, fungi,
lichens and mosses) and arboreal lichens and shrubs, when snow depth and
consistency prevent pawing. Woodland caribou migrate in the boreal
forest and its interface with the tundra. A
Lake Nipissing island was the site of a calving area. Similar
Species:
Moose range overlaps in the northern boreal forest. Moose are dark brown
and the bulls are twice as large. Ecological
Role: Source
of food for arctic, sub-arctic and boreal native peoples. The large grey
or timber wolf is the woodland caribou’s main predator. A
single grey wolf may eat up to 15 caribou in a year. Some wolf packs
follow migrating herds, all year feeding exclusively on them. Other
predators include the wolverine, Canada lynx, and golden and bald
eagles. Threats:
Woodland caribou require large tracts or relatively
undisturbed old growth forest habitat, which offer shelter from
predators and hunters and tend to be richer in food than younger
forests. Declines are due to a low reproductive rate; loss, degradation,
and fragmentation of habitat and wolf predation. Climate change and
human development cause habitat change allowing white-tailed deer to
expand their range. What
you can do: Monitor logging and mineral exploration activity in the
boreal forest. Prevent old growth black spruce stands’ destruction and
fragmentation. Reduce global warming practices and curb northward
migration of white-tailed deer. Compiled
By: Josef Hamr, Northern Environmental Heritage
Institute, Cambrian College. |
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