Caribou

Alex A, Bank Street School For Children

Contents


Food, Eating and hunting

Caribou mammels are cud chewers. That means that their teeth are flat. Their stomach divides into 4 small parts. Caribous get lichen. They get it by pounding the snow with their hooves. The caribou would not survivie the winter with out lichen.

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Habitiat and environment

Caribou live in the Arctic. They live near creeks. They are strong swimmers. They live in extreme cold most of the time. Their skin keeps them warm.

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Appearance

At the age of six months male caribou's antlers start to grow. they are covered with velvet, then the velvit sheds. They then shed thier antlers after every season. The caribou's hooves are used for standing in the snow. They have two long toes called dewclaws.

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Adaptation

Like salmon caribou will go back to thier birth place. They have migration routines. They give birth to their young in the same place they were born. They travel farther than any other land mammals, 1000 miles a year.

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Behavior and lifestyle

When a calf is a few days old it can outrun a wolf. They shed antlers. they migrate.

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Mating and reproduction

A caribou goes back to the same place they were born to mate. The males fight off other mates so the female may mate in peace.

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Other Facts

The word caribou comes from the Micmac word galip, meaning snow shoveler. The hair on the caribuou insulate them. they have alarm signals for enemies.

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Return to "Arctic Animals"

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