Adaptations

Caribou are highly adapted to living in the snow and extreme cold temperatures.

Physical adaptations are physical features that an animal has that helps them survive. Caribou have existed since the Ice Age and we have learned how their bodies help them survive the arctic.

Hooves

• Can spread out and act like snowshoes to walk on snow.
• They have two small toes and two large toes that grow a fleshy pad to help grip icy surfaces.
• Their hooves also act as a shovel or paddle when swimming.
• They also have scent glands at the base of their ankles. When in danger, these scent glands release a scent alerting other caribou that danger is near.

Antlers

• Bulls have large antlers to advertise their strength to other bulls and cows.
• Females use antlers to help defend their winter craters and to dig deep craters in the snow to access food.
• Once their antlers fall, caribou also chew on them as
  they are a great source of calcium.

Fur

• They have two layers of fur. A fuzzy layer is densely packed against their skin, while the other layer has long, hollow hairs that trap air to keep them warm and help them float in the water.
• Their fur helps them stay warm in the cold winter months, keeping the heat in and the cold out.

Nose

• Their noses heat the air as it enters their lungs, helping them stay warm.
• It filters the bugs out of the air as they breathe.
• It can smell lichen while it’s still under the snow.

Eyes

• Their eyes help them see in the dark during the long winters.
• They also have UV vision, which helps them see in constant brightness during the summer.
• They change colour depending on the time of year (blue during winter and gold during summer).

In addition to physical adaptations, caribou also have behavioural adaptations that help them navigate their environment.

Rutting

• The rutting period is the first part of the caribou’s reproductive cycle. This is when all the caribou gather in one place and mate with one another.
• Only the biggest and strongest bulls mate with cows, which results in bigger and stronger calves. Bigger antlers help to identify which bulls are the strongest.
• This occurs during October and November, and calves are born in the spring.

Escaping biting insects

• To escape biting insects, caribou often move to snow patches, wide open spaces, water or areas with less vegetation.

 

---

Activity: Build your own caribou!

The adaptations caribou have help them survive in the cold, in the summer, through long migrations and against hungry predators. While remembering what physical adaptations caribou have, build your own caribou using materials around your home or around your classroom.

Use materials you think will help them stay warm, help them run fast, swim, walk on snow, eat or hear.

Once you’ve made your caribou, present it to others and explain why your caribou would do well in Wapusk National Park!

---

Quiz: All about caribou

Read the following information about caribou and answer a few questions.

Caribou migrate between their calving grounds along the Hudson Bay coast to their winter home in the boreal forest. They also go by the name “reindeer” in Europe, Asia and when they become domesticated in North America.

Caribou are herbivores, meaning they only eat plants. They mostly eat lichen, a type of vegetation that grows on bark, wood, mosses, rock, soil and other undisturbed surfaces, and sometimes even hangs from trees. They can also eat grasses and small shrubs. During the winter when most plants die, lichen continues to grow underneath the snow. Because they live in such harsh conditions and their main food source is often buried under the snow in winter, caribou have developed some physical adaptations to help them survive.

Antlers: Caribou antlers are important to their survival. They use them for mating and wrestling. Unlike other types of deer, both the male and female caribou grow antlers. Female caribou have antlers to find and defend their food.

Hooves: Caribou hooves have a few special features. They spread out wide like a snowshoe to help caribou keep their balance on slippery ice and rough terrain. Just like the rest of their body, caribou hooves are completely covered in fur which helps keep their hooves warm when walking on snow and ice and gives them extra grip when walking on slippery surfaces.

Fur: Caribou have unique fur. There are two layers: the inner layer is soft and woolly while the outer layer is coarse, like human hair, except that it is hollow like a drinking straw. Warm air gets trapped inside those hairs, helping them to stay warm during the cold winter months. The air trapped inside their fur also acts like a life jacket, helping them float while they swim and keeping their body temperature regulated.

Nose: Caribou have special elongated noses. Unlike other deer, caribou noses are completely covered in fur. Their noses are also very wide because they contain lots of blood vessels that warm the cold winter air they breathe before it reaches their lungs.

---

 

1. What is an example of a physical adaptation?

a) A butterfly turning from a caterpillar to a chrysalis
b) A caribou using its hooves to dig for food
c) A bird eating a worm
d) A mouse hiding from a cat

 

2. What’s the difference between a caribou and a reindeer?

a) Caribou eat lichen while reindeer eat carrots
b) Reindeer fly while caribou swim
c) Caribou travel alone while reindeer travel in herds
d) Caribou and the reindeer are the same species, but reindeer are domesticated

 

3. What is an adaptation seen in newborn calves?

a) Though they can’t see yet, they can smell lichen from miles away
b) They’re born with antlers to help dig for food
c) They can stand and walk within hours of being born
d) They become fully independent within 2 weeks of being born

 

4. What type of terrain is the caribou habitat in Manitoba?

a) Arctic tundra and boreal forest
b) Arctic tundra and the Rocky Mountains
c) Boreal forest and tall grass prairies
d) Rocky Mountains and boreal forest

 

5. What is an example of a behavioural adaptation? (Hint: There may be one more than one answer!)

a) A cat having claws
b) A bear having big and strong hind legs
c) Wolves hunting caribou in a pack
d) Caribou sticking together to escape bugs
e) A duck having webbed feet

 

6. What are 5 physical adaptations of the Cape Churchill herd?

a) Antlers, fur, tail, claws, ears
b) Fur, tail, wings, hooves, mouth
c) Antlers, hooves, fur, nose, eyes
d) Eyes, nose, mouth, stomach, gills

 

7. What is a physical adaptation of caribou that help them protect themselves from predators like wolves?

a) Their antlers
b) Their hooves
c) Their fur
d) Their nose
e) Their eyes

 

8. What are the 3 behavioural adaptations of the Cape Churchill herd?

a) Hibernation, migration, nocturnal
b) Migration, rutting, herding
c) Herding, hiding, hibernation
d) Rutting, running, swimming

 

9. What is rutting?

a) Caribou looking for food
b) Caribou wrestling with other caribou
c) Caribou mating time
d) Caribou migrating from the tundra to the forest

 

10. Why do caribou migrate?

a) To avoid predators
b) To gather together and mate with one another
c) To find food
d) All of the above

 

Answer key

1. b); 2. d); 3. c); 4. a); 5. c) and d); 6. c); 7. a); 8. b); 9. c); 10. d)

---

<< Migration patterns || Conservation >>