CARIBOU 



ings, and battling during breeding 

 season. 



Management of the moose in- 

 cludes yearly inventories, studies of 

 range capacities, and regulation of 

 hunting seasons so as to maintain 

 the herds. Predator control, where 

 practiced, results in greater pro- 

 duction for hunting. Refuges are 

 established to meet the moose's need 

 for large areas as free as possible 

 from human interference. Some of 

 these are inviolate sanctuaries, 

 others have limited hunting. The 

 Kenai National Moose Range was 

 set up in 1941 primarily for the 

 moose. 



Caribou — Despite a great de- 

 crease in the past few years, the 

 wandering caribou is still the most 

 abundant big-game animal in 

 Alaska, where it ranges widely 

 over the high plateaus and moun- 

 tain slopes. All of Alaska's cari- 

 bou are barren-ground caribou. 

 Woodland caribou are not found 

 here but are farther south in the 

 forested portions of Canada. Bar- 

 ren-ground caribou are regarded 

 as two subspecies — the Grant car- 



ibou of the Alaska Peninsula and 

 the Stone caribou of the eastern 

 half of the interior and the Arctic 

 Shelf. 



In days gone by, when there were 

 millions of caribou, their migra- 

 tions would hold up paddle-wheel 

 steamers for hours while the ani- 

 mals crossed the Yukon River. 

 Some herds travel hundreds of 

 miles to new ranges, and all herds 

 are constantly on the move in 

 search of the slow-growing lichens 

 or "reindeer moss", their principal 

 winter food supply. One large 

 herd moved from the Fortymile re- 

 gion of eastern Alaska to the vi- 

 cinity of Kotzebue on the Arctic 

 coast, a trek of about 600 miles. 



Both sexes of caribou have ant- 

 lei-s. The large males shed their 

 massive branched horns in Novem- 

 ber and December, and the females 

 and some of the younger bulls shed 

 their smaller one in May or June. 



Caribou are polygamous, and in 

 October the bulls collect Harems of 

 2 to 15 cows. In May or June, each 

 cow has a single russet calf. Cari- 

 bou weigh from 100 to 500 pounds. 



24 



