Mountain caribou are a sub-population of woodland caribou that depend on old-growth forests for food and for security from predators. (Roland Usher)
Mountain Caribou 101
Caribou are unique in the deer family in that both females and males grow antlers. Mountain caribou are larger than deer and smaller than elk, with males weighing approximately 175 kg. Their hollow fur insulates them through the long mountain winters.
When snow falls in early winter, mountain caribou are found in low elevation old-growth cedar and hemlock forests where trees may exceed 1000 years in age. Here, they feed on ground plants such as falsebox. Once the mid-winter snow buries those foods, caribou move higher into sub-alpine spruce/fir forests where their dinner-plate-sized feet act like snowshoes, allowing them to use the deep winter snow as a platform to reach lichens draped from old-growth trees. These tree lichens are typically the only food source for caribou for most of the winter, and are found in abundance only in old-growth forests.
Mountain caribou make up the southernmost occurrence of caribou in the world. Other kinds of caribou include the barren-ground caribou of Canada’s far north, and several kinds of reindeer in Europe and Asia.
