58 CONSERVATION OF CANADIAN WILD LIFE 



abundance the barren-ground caribou now ranges the vast, 

 uninhabited northlands of Canada, which we have wrongly- 

 called the Barren Grounds. 



Like the buffalo they furnish the native inhabitants of 

 the territories that they occupy with meat and clothing, 

 and, finally, like the buffalo soon after the middle of the 

 last century, their numbers are decreasing with the advent 

 of the white man and his rifle, and their range is becoming 

 restricted by excessive slaughter. Again, the fallacy of be- 

 lieving that excessive numbers of an animal is a reason 

 against its extermination is being demonstrated. But in 

 the case of the barren-ground caribou we can yet save it 

 from extermination by a wise course of conservation, and 

 increase its value as one of the most important natural re- 

 sources of the north. 



The caribou and the fur-bearing animals are the only 

 superterranean natural resources of the north that can be 

 utilized at the present time. As will be shown later, the 

 natives of that enormous area, both Indians and Eskimos, 

 depend upon the caribou for food and clothing. Any ex- 

 ploration of the country is dependent upon this source of 

 meat. Without the caribou, travel in that region would be 

 almost impossible, and the natives would either starve or 

 become a public charge on the government. 



In the case of an animal extending over such an enormous 

 area it is natural that distinct races should have developed, 

 and, although we are not concerned here with the different 

 forms, and shall include them all under the one name, it 

 may be pointed out in passing that at least four distinct 

 forms have been recognized and given specific rank. These 

 are the true barren-ground caribou {Rangifer arcticus), 

 which is the caribou of our Canadian Barren Grounds; 

 Grant's caribou {Rangifer granti), found in the Alaskan 

 peninsula; and the more northerly forms, Peary's caribou 

 {Rangifer pearyi), inhabiting EUesmere Island, and the 



