Alaska is home to an estimated , caribou spread among 32 different herds as of This iconic, circumpolar species with antlers and boundless energy roams from the prairie-like barrens of the Arctic Slope to the brushy Kenai River flats, from the foothills In Denali National Park to the sweeping Alaska Peninsula along the Bering Sea. Caribou are busy grazers and browsers during summer, constantly on the move. Sometimes alone or in small groups. Sometimes migrating in vast congregations that number in the tens of thousands.
Seeing a caribou in the wild, then, can be challenging. While huge seasonal migrations do occur in some areas, most caribou show up as solitary animals or small groups. Fortunately, several herds meander near the road system. View on Map. A famous and long-studied caribou herd haunts the sweeping tundra wilderness on the north side of the Alaska Range inside Denali National Park.
The animals are regularly seen by travelers and hikers along the mile-long Denali Park Road, sometimes close at hand. Venture out early and go deep into the park as you have time for. Use binoculars and scan periodically for movement. The herd—the only barren ground caribou not hunted—has ranged from 20, animals in the s to 1, in the s. Denali National Park entrance lies north of the Alaska Range on the Seward Highway, about miles north of Anchorage and miles south of Fairbanks.
There are many options for exploring the park road. Several small caribou herds roam the Kenai Peninsula, all descended from animals introduced decades ago to reverse earlier extinctions. Best bet for viewing? You can see them feeding in the marshy flats on both sides of the Bridge Access Road between June and August.
Drive slowly north, scanning for caribou wandering the open country around you. A larger herd centers in backcountry areas of the northern Kenai Mountains west of the Seward Highway and up the Resurrection Creek Valley south of Hope.
Hikers and backpackers sometimes see them in alpine meadows. Animals from this herd also often roam the remote and difficult-to-access foothills on the west slope of the Kenai Mountains near the Chickaloon River, across Turnagain Arm from Anchorage. Marathon Road. Take the Kenai Spur Highway north from Soldotna. This oil field access route gets very little traffic, but be alert for trucks.
Drive slowly north while scanning the open country for animals. GPS That was the smallest percentage to date for caribou overwintering south of the Brooks Range, but part of a five-year trend, biologists reported. But people who are trying to gather wild foods are certainly feeling the effects of climate change, said Wanda Kippi, a working group member representing the Inupiat villages of Atqasuk, Utqiagvik and Wainwright.
Fish are changing, blueberries and cranberries and not as plentiful and last spring, when she was out hunting, she got stranded by a quick thaw and had to call or help. Other threats to the caribou, the working group members said, come from various forms of proposed development. The administration in November released a draft environmental impact statement with alternatives for rewriting an Obama-era integrated activity plan that put about half of the 23 million-acre reserve off-limits to development.
Up to 81 percent of the reserve would now be available for leasing, under the draft released by the Bureau of Land Management. Among the areas being eyed for potential new oil leasing are some set aside specifically for caribou protection. Already, there are signs the oil industry is eager to develop areas that are currently protected but could be opened to development under a new plan.
In a Dec. Some said the rewrite of the activity plan, which is expected to be made final in , is moving too fast. All caribou and reindeer throughout the world are considered to be the same species, but there are 7 subspecies, two of which occur in Alaska: barren ground and woodland. Caribou have special adaptations that allow them to survive their harsh arctic environment. Long legs and broad, flat hooves allow them walk on snow, and a dense woolly undercoat overlain by stiff, hollow guard hairs helps keep them warm.
Caribou are also the only member of the deer family in which both sexes grow antlers. Antlers of adult bulls are large and massive; those of adult cows are much shorter and are usually more slender.
In late fall, caribou are clove-brown with a white neck, rump, and feet and often have a white flank stripe. For example, caribou are fairly small in northern Alaska. Males average about to pounds, females about pounds. In southern Alaska, caribou are considerably larger -- males average to pounds and females average to pounds. Caribou are the only deer in which both sexes have antlers.
Males shed their antlers in late fall, just after the breeding season young males retain their antlers longer that mature males. Pregnant females keep their antlers all winter and shed them soon after the calves are born in the spring.
Non-pregnant females shed their antlers during the winter. Caribou do not store much of their fat in muscle tissue, so their meat is leaner than beef which often is "marbled" with fat. Caribou meat is considered more healthy than beef, and is quite tasty.
Caribou commonly gather in large herds about three weeks after the calves are born. At this time the great herds increase their rate of movement, and caribou tend to be less wary when they are in very large groups.
Caribou will generally not let you approach them, but if you sit quietly in the path of a group that is moving in your direction, you might be fortunate enough to see them up close as they pass by. Caribou populations are rarely stable for very long. Under natural conditions, the size of a particular herd will tend to increase slowly for years, then decline, sometimes rapidly, before again beginning to increase. Many things can influence whether a herd is increasing or declining.
When factors having negative effects on caribou births and deaths occur more frequently more bad years than good years , populations decline. Caribou populations increase when the opposite occurs.
Usually a combination of factors cause caribou numbers to change. Harsh weather can reduce plant growth, which causes poor caribou nutrition, and reduced survival. Some years, insect harassment interferes with caribou foraging, which also decreases survival. If it rains during the winter, ice can prevent caribou from getting their food. They may starve when this happens. Wolf populations in caribou winter ranges can increase in response to higher levels of other prey such as moose.
When caribou return to the winter range they are preyed on more heavily by the increased number of wolves. On the other hand, when arctic foxes reach a high in their population cycle, they sometimes spread rabies to neighboring wolves.
This results in reduced wolf predation on caribou. Most male caribou live about seven to eight years. Females often live longer, to years. These are very general numbers. Every animal faces its own set of situations that lead to a shorter or longer life.
If a caribou lives in a herd that is declining, it probably will have a shorter life than a caribou in a healthy or expanding herd. Also, many caribou die within the first year after they are born, so never reach adult age. Orphan caribou calves are not adopted by other caribou mothers.
If the mother dies, or the calf becomes permanently separated from its mother before the end of its first summer of life, the calf will probably not survive. Several species are known to prey on caribou. Wolves prey on caribou throughout the year, but most frequently in the winter.
Bears prey on caribou during spring, summer and fall. Golden eagles take young calves during the early summer, and lynx are able to kill calves in the fall when caribou migrate into forested areas. When snow is deep, wolverines are sometimes able to kill caribou. Humans have hunted caribou for many thousands of years. The female doesn't actually pick males with large antlers, but the females do often end up breeding with males that have large antlers.
This is because the mature males those with the largest antlers work hard to keep younger males with smaller antlers away from the females during breeding time. The males with the largest antlers are in the best health, and they have been good at finding food all their lives so their bodies can grow these large antlers.
When these animals do most of the breeding, their genes are passed on to new generations, and this ensures that the herd remains healthy. Both caribou and elk are hoofed mammals of the deer family. Caribou males weigh about pounds are generally smaller than elk males weigh about pounds. Caribou often occur in large herds which migrate over long distances. Elk generally occur in smaller herds, and migrate over relatively short distances.
They usually migrate between summer ranges at higher elevations, and winter ranges in mountain valleys. Caribou are native to North America, whereas reindeer are found in Scandinavia and northern Asia.
Some reindeer have been domesticated by humans for hundreds of years. These are used for food and for pulling sleds. Reindeer are smaller and have shorter legs than caribou. A number of reindeer have been imported to Alaska, primarily to the Seward Peninsula. These herds are owned by Alaska Natives. In the U. There are currently over different wildlife refuges.
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