caribou

     

The reineer (Rangifer tarandus), also known as the caribou when wild in North America, is an Arctic and Subarctic-dwelling deer, widespread and numerous across the northern Holarctic Region.

Trivia about caribou

  • It's the North American name for a reindeer
  • One of the few land mammals that migrate long distances; they wander from the tundra to the forests
  • This deer's name is from a Canadian Indian word for "snow shoveler" because it paws for food in the snow
  • Some Canadians cook this reindeer relative whose name is from the Algonquin for "pawer"
  • The only male & female deer to both have antlers are the reindeer & this North American relative
  • If a reindeer had come through Ellis Island, its name would have been changed to this
  • It's the Western Alaskan deer family member seen here
  • Alaska pipelines were constructed so as to allow this arctic deer unimpeded passage to feeding grounds
  • The barren ground type of this deer is native to the tundra regions of Alaska & Canada