460 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



WOODLAND CARIBOU (Rangifer cari- 

 bou and its subspecies) 



The caribou lacks the symmetry and grace 

 of the true deer. Its large head topped with 

 irregular antlers, heavy body, and thick, sturdy 

 legs, ending in large, broad-spreading hoofs, 

 produce a distinctly ungainly animal. It is the 

 only member of the deer family in which both 

 sexes have antlers, those of the female being 

 smaller and slenderer than those of the male. 

 It varies in size in different parts of its range, 

 but large old bulls usually weigh from 300 to 

 400 pounds. A single calf is the rule, but oc- 

 casionally there are two. 



The woodland caribou, the southern repre- 

 sentative of the barren ground caribou, in- 

 habits almost the same northern forest of 

 spruce, tamarack, birch, and alder as those 

 sheltering the moose. It ranges from the 

 northern border of the forests in Alaska and 

 Canada south to Maine, northern Minnesota, 

 northern Idaho, and British Columbia. It is 

 far less gregarious than the barren ground 

 caribou, during summer only small parties of 

 cows, calves, and partly grown young keeping 

 together, while the bulls are solitary or in still 

 smaller separate parties. In winter all unite in 

 larger herds. 



The curiously ungraceful appearance of the 

 caribou, so different from other deer, gives it 

 a strong individuality, which seems to belong 

 with its remote haunts in the wilderness. This 

 great animal has an added appeal to our in- 

 terest, owing to its close relationship to that 

 other woodland caribou which was such an im- 

 portant resource to the cave-men of France 

 and other parts of Europe, as shown by bone 

 and horn implements, carvings, and other rec- 

 ords discovered in their homes. 



During summer and fall in eastern Canada, 

 where this caribou is distributed through much 

 of the wilder forests, it has a habit of coming 

 out of the woods to sun itself and bathe on 

 the borders of shallow lakes. Here the old 

 bulls wallow in the water, and on rising shake 

 themselves like a dog, filling the air with a 

 halo of sparkling water drops. In such places 

 the bulls frequently stand basking in the sun 

 for hours. To a canoeman gliding silently 

 around a jutting point, this rugged habitant of 

 the wilds, discovered across the shining waters, 

 standing outlined against the dark green for- 

 est, represents a wonderfully picturesque sight. 

 When alarmed at such times the caribou dashes 

 shoreward through the water amid clouds of 

 flying spray struck up by its broad feet and 

 vanishes in the sheltering forest, accompanied 

 by a loud crashing of dry branches. 



The woodland caribou is neither so swift nor 

 so astute in avoiding danger as the Virginia 

 deer or the moose. It falls an easy prey to 

 hunters and to wolves, and when not properly 

 safeguarded is readily exterminated. This is 

 shown by its complete disappearance from the 

 Adirondacks, in northern New York, and by 

 its threatened disappearance from the forests 

 of Maine, Minnesota, and Tdaho : in fact, the 

 woodland caribou is in more imminent daneer 



of complete and early extermination within the 

 United States than any other game animal and 

 can be saved only by stringent laws and care- 

 ful guardianship. 



BARREN GROUND CARIBOU (Rangifer 



arcticus and its subspecies) (see 

 illustration, page 421) 



The typical barren ground caribou is smaller 

 and paler colored than the woodland species. 

 Several geographic races have been distin- 

 guished, among which the most notable is the 

 Peary caribou, the palest of all and the subject 

 of the accompanying drawing. Like other 

 members of the group, this species is a heavily 

 built animal, with thick legs and large feet. 



The barren ground caribou is characteristic 

 of the desolate Arctic barrens and tundras be- 

 yond the limit of trees, ranging to the north- 

 ernmost limit of land beyond 83 degrees of 

 latitude. When explorers first visited these 

 northern wilds, including the treeless coastal 

 belt from the Peninsula of Alaska to Bering 

 Straits, they found these animals almost every- 

 where in extraordinary abundance. Over great 

 areas of this territory straggling herds of cari- 

 bou, sometimes numbering hundreds of thou- 

 sands, drifted with the season from one feed- 

 ing ground to another. 



The advent of white men with guns has re- 

 sulted in their rapid decrease everywhere and 

 in their extermination over great areas. In 

 many of their old haunts the only trace of 

 their former abundance is in well-marked trails 

 winding by easy grades to the bare tops of the 

 low mountains. They are still numerous on 

 the Peninsula of Alaska and in much greater 

 numbers in parts of the barren grounds of 

 Canada. There, on the shores of Artillery 

 Lake, during the summer of 1907 a small mi- 

 grating herd of about 2,000 was seen. 



When alarmed these caribou often break into 

 a clumsy gallop, which soon changes to a 

 steady shambling trot, their characteristic gait, 

 carrying them rapidly across country. In win- 

 ter their tracks in the snow show that their 

 feet, instead of being raised high at each step, 

 like those of a Virginia or mule deer, drag 

 through the snow like those of domestic cattle. 

 Their large, broad-spreading hoofs, with sharp, 

 cup-shaped edges, are admirably adapted to 

 secure a firm footing in the yielding and hum- 

 mocky surface of their haunts in summer and 

 on the snow and ice in winter. 



The barren ground caribou, living under se- 

 vere climatic conditions, has developed an ex- 

 traordinary method of storing up fat to carry 

 it through winter stresses. Early in fall a layer 

 of pure tallow, called "backfat," is formed over 

 the entire top of the bark from between the 

 shoulders to the rump. This is a solid slab of 

 tallow lying between the superficial muscles 

 and the skin. It is almost as thin as a knife- 

 blade at the shoulders, but thickens gradually 

 to a depth of from 4 to 6 inches at the rump. 

 This slab of tallow is gradually absorbed dur- 

 ing the winter and has totally disappeared by 

 spring. In early winter the "backfat" is easily 



