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Caribou are actually North American reindeer! The Inuit call Caribou tuktu. The underside of a Caribou hoof is concave and looks like a small narrow shovel. The hooves act like snowshoes, keeping the Caribou from sinking into deep snow. They’re also perfect for scooping out snow so the Caribou can find their food.

Caribou eat willow and birch branches along with grass in spring and summer. They eat mushrooms in autumn and lichens in the winter when no other plants are available. Their natural predators are wolves, grizzly bears and lynx.

Caribou have winter and summer ranges. In the warm summer months they travel to cooler climes to get away from the insects that bite them ferociously. When winter sets in they travel back to milder weather foraging for any food they can find.

The summer and winter habitats can be anywhere from 310 to 625 miles apart! Since caribou like to follow a zigzag path adding miles to their journey, they can travel as many as 1250 to 2500 miles a year!