Features: Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) or Reindeer have evolved distinctive populations and subspecies across their range, and one of these is the Woodland Caribou (R. t. caribou), so-called because it lives in boreal forest, especially mature Jack Pine forest. The Woodland Caribou is considered distinct because of morphological, ecological and behaviourial adaptations to this unusual caribou habitat. Woodland caribou are larger and darker than their relatives the Barren-ground Caribou which inhabit the tundra. Woodland Caribou generally live in smaller herds and are less migratory, but populations living at the interface between forest and barrens live in large herds which move about more. Both sexes grow antlers, which are larger in males. In winter its diet consists mainly of ground lichens, and in the snow-free months it diversifies to include herbaceous plants and leafy shrubs.

Status: Threatened Provincially and Nationally

Range: Woodland Caribou live in the Boreal Forest zone across North America from Alaska to Newfoundland. In the forests of northern Ontario, caribou occur at low density in small, isolated herds that are dispersed widely across the forest. Woodland Caribou also occur in the open tundra along the coast of Hudson Bay, where they are much more migratory and form much larger herds. At present, it is estimated that there are about 20,000 Woodland Caribou in Ontario. Range Maps

Threats: The range of Woodland Caribou in northern Ontario has receded dramatically over the past century with the encroachment of human development, and habitat disturbance and alteration. Caribou require quite large areas of mature, coniferous forest; forest management practices that create a fragmented and diverse forest landscape have not favoured them. Changes in habitat composition that increase the suitability of habitat for moose and deer also negatively affect caribou by increasing the number of potential predators within their range.

Protection: The Woodland Caribou is listed under Ontario's Endangered Species Act, 2007, which protects the species from being killed, harmed, possessed, harassed, collected or sold. Woodland Caribou is classed as a game animal in Ontario, although the season has been closed to non-native hunting since 1929. It is hunted by First Nations people for their own use. A provincial recovery strategy for the species has been completed to guide recovery activities.

Text Sources: Kelsall 1984; Cumming 1998; Darby et al. 1989

Last Modified Date: October 2008