The reindeer or caribou is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only representative of the genus Rangifer. More recent studies suggest the splitting of reindeer and caribou into six distinct species over their range.
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species have subspecies, but for those that do there must be at least two. Subspecies is abbreviated subsp. or ssp. and the singular and plural forms are the same.
Leaf River is a river in northern Quebec, Canada, at the northern limit of the tree line. It flows from Lake Minto northeast through the Ungava Peninsula into Leaf Bay off Ungava Bay over a distance of 480 kilometres (300 mi). At the head of Leaf Bay is the Inuit community of Tasiujaq.
The migratory woodland caribou refers to two herds of Rangifer tarandus that are included in the migratory woodland ecotype of the subspecies Rangifer tarandus caribou or woodland caribou that live in Nunavik, Quebec, and Labrador: the Leaf River caribou herd (LRCH) and the George River caribou herd (GRCH) south of Ungava Bay. Rangifer tarandus caribou is further divided into three ecotypes: the migratory barren-ground ecotype, the mountain ecotype or woodland (montane) and the forest-dwelling ecotype. According to researchers, the "George River herd which morphologically and genetically belong to the woodland caribou subspecies, at one time represented the largest caribou herd in the world and migrating thousands of kilometers from boreal forest to open tundra, where most females calve within a three-week period. This behaviour is more like barren-ground caribou subspecies." They argued that "understanding ecotype in relation to existing ecological constraints and releases may be more important than the taxonomic relationships between populations." The migratory George River caribou herd travel thousands of kilometres moving from wintering grounds to calving grounds near the Inuit hamlet of Kangiqsualujjuaq, Nunavik. In Nunavik and Labrador, the caribou population varies considerably with their numbers peaking in the later decades of each of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. In 1984, about 10,000 caribou of the George River herd drowned during their bi-annual crossing of the Caniapiscau River during the James Bay Hydro Project flooding operation. The most recent decline at the turn of the 20th century caused much hardship for the Inuit and Cree communities of Nunavik, who hunt them for subsistence.
The Porcupine caribou(Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) is a herd or ecotype of barren-ground caribou, the subspecies of the reindeer or caribou found in Alaska, United States, and Yukon and the Northwest Territories, Canada.
Pink Mountain Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada.
The Peary caribou is a subspecies of caribou found in the High Arctic islands of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories in Canada. They are the smallest of the North American caribou, with the females weighing an average of 60 kg (130 lb) and the males 110 kg (240 lb). In length the females average 1.4 m and the males 1.7 m.
The barren-ground caribou is a subspecies of the reindeer that is found in the Canadian territories of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, in northern Alaska and in south-western, Greenland. It includes the Porcupine caribou of Yukon and Alaska. The barren-ground caribou is a medium-sized caribou, smaller and lighter-colored than the boreal woodland caribou, with the females weighing around 90 kg (200 lb) and the males around 150 kg (330 lb). However, on some of the smaller islands, the average weight may be less. The large migratory herds of barren-ground caribou take their names from the traditional calving grounds, such as the Ahiak herd, the Baffin Island herds, the Bathurst herd, the Beverly herd, the Bluenose East herd, the Bluenose West herd, the Porcupine herd and the Qamanirjuaq herd.
In biology, a cline is a measurable gradient in a single characteristic of a species across its geographical range. Clines usually have a genetic, or phenotypic character. They can show either smooth, continuous gradation in a character, or more abrupt changes in the trait from one geographic region to the next.
The Dawson's caribou, also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands caribou was a population of woodland caribou that once lived on Graham Island, the largest of the islands within the Haida Gwaii archipelago, located off the coast of British Columbia, Canada.
George River, formerly the East or George's River, is a river in northeastern Quebec, Canada, that flows from Lake Jannière mainly north to Ungava Bay.
The Finnish forest reindeer(Rangifer fennicus fennicus, also known as Eurasian or European forest reindeer is a rare subspecies of the reindeer native to Finland and northwestern Russia. They are found primarily in Russian Karelia and the provinces of North Karelia, Savonia and Kainuu in Finland, though some range into central south Finland. They are distinct from the semi-domesticated mountain reindeer in their larger size, longer legs and preference for dense boreal forest habitat, where they are rarely seen by humans, over the open tundra. The Finnish herd migrates seasonally back and forth across the long Russo-Finnish border.
The Svalbard reindeer is a small subspecies or species of reindeer found on the Svalbard archipelago of Norway. Males average 65–90 kg (143–198 lb) in weight, females 53–70 kg (117–154 lb), while for other reindeer generally body mass is 159–182 kg (351–401 lb) for males and 80–120 kg (180–260 lb) for females.
The boreal woodland caribou, also known as Eastern woodland caribou, boreal forest caribou and forest-dwelling caribou, is a North American subspecies of reindeer found primarily in Canada with small populations in the United States. Unlike the Porcupine caribou and barren-ground caribou, boreal woodland caribou are primarily sedentary.
Alexander William Francis Banfield, Frank Banfield, A. W. F, Banfield, was one of the small group of early Canadian mammalogists who worked with Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) and the National Museum of Canada. His research and publications appeared repeatedly in publications on mammals in Canada. and in 1974 he published his book Mammals of Canada. His 1961 article "A Revision of the Reindeer and Caribou, Genus Rangifer" in the National Museum of Canada's Bulletin continues to be widely cited today in discussions on subspecies and ecotypes of caribou.
Dolphin and Union Caribou, Dolphin and Union caribou herd, Dolphin-Union, locally known as Island Caribou, are a migratory population of barren-ground caribou, Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus, that occupy Victoria Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and the nearby mainland. They are endemic to Canada. They migrate across the Dolphin and Union Strait from their summer grazing on Victoria Island to their winter grazing area on the Nunavut-Northwest Territories mainland in Canada. It is unusual for North American caribou to seasonally cross sea ice and the only other caribou to do so are the Peary caribou who are smaller in size and population. They were listed as Endangered by Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) since November 2017.
Reindeer in Russia include tundra and forest reindeer and are subspecies of Rangifer tarandus. Tundra reindeer include the Novaya Zemlya (R.t.pearsoni) and Sápmi subspecies and the Siberian tundra reindeer.
The Arctic reindeer, properly known as the East Greenland caribou, was a subspecies of the reindeer that once lived in eastern Greenland. It has been extinct since 1900.
Caribou herds in Canada are discrete populations of seven subspecies that are represented in Canada. Caribou can be found from the High Arctic region south to the boreal forest and Rocky Mountains and from the east to the west coasts.
The reindeer is a widespread and numerous species in the northern Holarctic, being present in both tundra and taiga. Originally, the reindeer was found in Scandinavia, eastern Europe, Russia, Mongolia, and northern China north of the 50th latitude. In North America, it was found in Canada, Alaska, and the northern contiguous USA from Washington to Maine. In the 19th century, it was apparently still present in southern Idaho. It also occurred naturally on Sakhalin, Greenland, and probably even in historical times in Ireland.
