Scientific name: Rangifer tarandus
These animals roam the old-growth forests of northern Ontario and need vast expanses of undisturbed land to sustain themselves. Their status on the Species at Risk in Ontario list is “threatened”. This means the caribou lives in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered, but is likely to become endangered if steps are not taken to address factors threatening it. A group of woodland caribou were relocated by helicopter in January off Michipicoten Island to the Slate Islands on Lake Superior in an effort to save the island herd from wolves.
This is the estimated population number of woodland caribou in northern Ontario. They once roamed the whole region, but their range is now limited to areas north of Sioux Lookout, Geraldton, Cochrane and isolated spots along the shoreline and islands of Lake Superior.
The number in kilograms a mature woodland caribou can reach. They have a shoulder height of 1-1.2-metres. There are two distinct populations of caribou in Ontario. The boreal caribou, which stays in the forests all year; and the migratory population, which lives on the tundra in the spring and summer and in the boreal forest in fall and winter.
40-50
The number in percent of the boreal caribou range in Ontario lost since the late 1800s. The main threats to the animals are habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation due to human settlements and developments such as logging, mining, hydro corridors and roads. They are also at risk to disease and increased predation that comes with big habitat changes.
10-15
The average lifespan of the caribou. They are the only member of the deer species in which both sexes grow antlers. The males shed in the fall and the females shed in the spring.
4.5
The number in kilograms of lichen one caribou can eat each day. It is the animal’s favourite food source.
A tree needs to be 80 years or older in order to grow the lichens preferred by woodland caribou such as Old Man’s Beard and Witches Hair.
5-16
The current estimated number of woodland caribou in Pukaskwa National Park. In the past, the caribou used small islands within the park as safe places to have calves. There have been no caribou observed at the calving islands since 2011.
Northern Numbers and facts
Northern Numbers and facts
110-210
5,000
Boreal caribou