Life Cycle and Migration

Caribou are large antlered land mammals that live in the cold climates of North America. While all caribou in North America belong to the same species Rangifer tarandus, there are many different herds and subspecies across the continent. In Canada, the caribou that live in the tundra and over-winter in the northern reaches of the boreal forests are commonly called the barren-ground cariboua subspecies of the caribou that is found mainly in the tundra regions of Alaska, Canada and Greenland. The caribou that spend their lives further south in the boreal forest are commonly called the woodland caribouforest dwelling caribou that live predominately in taiga / boreal forests. The information throughout this module is mostly focused on the barren-ground caribou.

Caribou are born in spring calving grounds throughout the Arctic tundra. Within a day they begin to take their first steps for a lifetime of walking, migrating back and forth across the tundra and taigathe sometimes swampy coniferous forest of high northern latitudes, especially that between the tundra and steppes of Siberia and North America to feed, keep safe, and reproduce as shown in the following video:

Calves are particularly vulnerable during their first few months of life. They must contend with predators such as wolves and grizzly bears while also finding enough food to sustain themselves. They begin to move with their herd and face dangers such as crossing rivers and other waterways.

Shortly after calves are born, caribou herds begin their migration to their wintering grounds. Throughout their lives, they will continue to make the annual migrations between their summer calving grounds and wintering grounds. Young caribou live with their mothers for six to twelve months (Burch 2012:29) at which point they separate and begin life on their own. Watch the following video from 32:31 – 38:30 to learn more about the early days of a caribou’s life:

Caribou reach sexual maturity at about 28 months old. Bulls go into rutthe mating season of ruminants such as caribou, deer, sheep and goats in the fall and caribou breed during this time. Cows will have calves almost every year thereafter (Burch 2012:30).

The annual cycle of caribou being born in their spring and summer calving grounds, fall migration to their wintering grounds during the breeding season, and return to the calving grounds occurs year after year. Many caribou perish from predation, environmental hazards, disease, and lack of food before they reach natural death. At their full life extent, bull caribou can live up to 15 years but often die between eight and ten years of age; meanwhile, cows can live up to 20 years but usually die between ten and fifteen years of age.

As previously mentioned, there are many different herds of caribou in the North American tundra and boreal forest. The migratory patterns of each herd differs from others and the individual caribou within herds can have quite distinct migrations from other caribou in the same herd. Take a look at the interactive caribou herd map created by the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna’s (CAFF) CircumArctic Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment Network (CARMA) to learn more about caribou herd populations throughout the world.

Let us focus on one herd in particular: the Porcupine Caribou Herd with a range that includes parts of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon and Alaska. With an annual migration of more than 2000 kilometers, the Porcupine Caribou Herd has the longest migration of any terrestrial mammal. In the summer months the herd aggregates on the calving grounds on Alaska’s Arctic Coastal Plain. The Gwich’in people call this place Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit, which means the Sacred Place Where Life Begins. Importantly, a large deposit of oil lies underneath the Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit. After the calves are born, the herd begins to disperse and the caribou move toward their wintering grounds.

Human-Caribou Interactions

In Section 3.2 of this module, you will learn more about caribou ecosystems and the plants, animals and landscapes that caribou interact with in a intricate relationship. It is important to remember that humans are part of that ecosystem and have complex ecological, cultural and social relationships with caribou. Here, some of the different relationships between caribou and people who live in the North are discussed.

Gwich’in and Vadzaih

Caribou, or vadzaih, also hold a special place Gwich’in people’s belief system. Gwich’in believe that humans and vadzaih both struggled to survive “when the earth was first made (nunh sit ultsui gwuno)” and to get by better, they made “a deal” that the Ehdiitat Gwhich’in Elder Mary Kendi said would define their future relations. Up until that time, humans and caribou had been one and the other, able to transform between each other. After the agreement, they would separate. However, “the separation between Gwich’in and caribou would never be complete; part of humans’ tinji tthui (human flesh) would remain in caribou” (Kofinas 2005:184). Today, many Gwich’in continue to see themselves as related to caribou and hold them in high regard as sentient beings.

Recently, a team of researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks completed the Caribou Anatomy project, which maps Gwich’in knowledge about caribou anatomy. Their website can be viewed at http://www.vadzaih.com.

On their website, they describe the importance of this knowledge; they write: “The body of the caribou is a microcosm of Gwich’in culture. When you look inside the animal, when you start butchering and processing, there is a whole new world waiting. There you will find our stories, our personal names and family names, our ceremonies, our games and toys, and the raw materials for making our traditional tools and clothing.” Follow the link to the website and read about Gwich’in names for caribou body parts: http://www.vadzaih.com/body-parts

Inuit and Tuktu

Caribou are known as tuktuthe Inuit designation for caribou (sing.) or tuktuit (pl.) to Inuit. Inuit know about tuktuit from their extensive interaction during hunting and traveling. They are an important food resource and their movements and migrations have always influenced Inuit livelihood. Hides from tuktuit, especially those caught in the fall, are particularly important for making clothing, tents, kayak covering, bedding, and other material goods. Antlers and bones were made into bows, arrows, fish leisters, harpoons, and sledge crossbeams in the past, and many people continue to make them into artwork and amulets today.

In the past, the seasonal patterns of Inuit groups were linked to the seasonal patterns of caribou. Many month names reflect the activities of caribou. For example, for some Inuit, Tuktunigvik (mid-July/early August) is the month when caribou return to the tundra in the summer and Akulirurvik (late August) is the month when caribou skins are best for making clothing. In the past, groups from the interior regions of southern Nunavut hunted tuktuit throughout the year (Bennett and Rowley 2004). Other groups like from the coastal areas of northern Nunavut depended on them more in the summer and fall when sea mammals were more difficult to hunt.

Tuktuit play an important role in the belief system of Inuit. Inuit have a kindred relationship with caribou and other animals (Thorpe et al. 2001). In the distant past, it is believed that animals and people could transform from one being into the other. Some people became caribou and some caribou became people. It is important to respect caribou when hunting them to ensure that they will make themselves available in the future. “All objects, animate and inanimate, contained an inua(pl. inuat): an Inuit designation for the inner soul of all objects, animate and inanimate or inner soul. These inuat had a human form, a reminder of the distant past when animals transformed into human beings at will” (Bennett and Rowley 2004:43). Inuit believe that the inua of each animal species returns to a village where its species lives when it is killed and will report how it was treated by humans. If humans treated them in a worthy way, the inua will return to another living caribou and make itself available for humans in the future.

Wildlife Biologists and Caribou

Rangifer tarandus is the scientific name for caribou used by wildlife biologists. The species R. tarandus applies to all caribou in North America as well as reindeer in Scandinavia and Russia, although biologists recognize subspecies such as R. t. granti (Porcupine caribou), R. t. groenlandicus (barren ground caribou), R. t. caribou (woodland caribou), and others.

Biologists know caribou through empirical and controlled scientific observations. A major aspect of caribou biology is trying to understand population dynamics and cycles. Biologists do this by counting caribou populations through aerial surveys, following caribou movements with satellite GPS collars, and creating models to predict caribou populations. Biologists attempt to isolate a wide array of variables (e.g., pests, diseases, birth rates, hunting pressure, predator pressure) that affect caribou populations and come up with models that predict what effects different management practices might have on herds.

Look at the following webpage for more detailed descriptions of how wildlife biologists conduct research to understand the health of the Porcupine caribou herd: http://www.pcmb.ca/herd

Summary

This section has given just a brief glimpse of how some Inuit, Gwich’in, and wildlife biologists know and interact with caribou. It is important to remember that all groups of people are diverse and individuals within a group will have different knowledge and ideas about caribou. Also, there are many other peoples who live in the same regions as caribou and have unique relationships with and understandings of the animals. Due to these multiple relationships with caribou, co-management approaches have been created in an attempt to have people with different understandings of caribou work together to best protect the health and wellbeing of the herds now and into the future.

References Cited

Burch, Ernest S. Jr. Caribou herds of northwest Alaska, 1850-2000. Igor Krupnik and Jim Dau, eds. University of Alaska Press, 2012.

Bennett, John, and Susan Rowley, eds. Uqalurait: An oral history of Nunavut. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004.

CircumArctic Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment Network. http://carma.caff.is, accessed February 4, 2015.

Kofinas, Gary P. “Caribou hunters and researchers at the co-management interface: emergent dilemmas and the dynamics of legitimacy in power sharing.” Anthropologica 47, no. 2 (2005): 179-196.

Mishler, Craig and Kenneth Frank. Gwich’in Caribou Anatomy. http://www.vadzaih.com, accessed February 4, 2015.

Thorpe, Natasha, Naikak Hakongak, Sandra Eyegetok, and the Kitikmeot Elders. Thunder on the tundra: Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit of the Bathurst Caribou.