Caribou                         Welcome to Zonein's Animals of the Arctic information files.

Common name: Caribou or reindeer

Scientific name: Rangifer tarandus

Location: Arctic and Subarctic regions

Size: lengths of  2 metres and weigh 120 kgs

Life Span:  up to 15 years

Current Status: endangered in some areas of its range

Habitat: tundra and boreal forests

Fast facts:
---they have a four-chambered stomach that enables them to eat moss, lichens, leaves, sedges and grasses.
---predators include wolverines, golden eagles, brown bears, polar bears and grey wolves
---they can travel up to 50 km a day

 

 

Caribou or reindeer
Male caribou in Alaska
Photo from: US FWS, DIVISION OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, WO3772-023