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Woodland Caribou - Rangifer tarandus caribou
General Description
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Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Historical
Western Hemisphere Range
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 68
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Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Habitat
Spring: follow green-up, lower elevations, open timber; females calve at higher elevation slopes and ridges. Summer: mature spruce-fir, north slopes; rut habitat similar, moister, denser. Early Winter: old growth cedar-hemlock. Late Winter: mature subalpine fir.
Food Habits
Winter: arboreal lichens. Spring: forbs and shrubs. Summer: Vaccinium membranaceum and Valeriana sitchensis. Fall and early Winter: evergreen forbs and shrubs and arboreal lichens.
Ecology
26 to 28 caribou in northern ID, southern BC, 3 to 5 calves, 11 to 13 cows, 3 to 10 immature bulls, 3 to 4 mature bulls, cows, calves, immature bulls usually found together in 3.4 groups, mature bulls often more solitary - often move south.
Reproductive Characteristics
Selkirk herd raised 3 calves 1982 and 84, 5 calves in 1985. Calving second week of June at high elevations; high early calf mortality, maybe as high as 50 to 75% annually. Rut mid-September to October.
References
- Additional ReferencesLegend:
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Anonymous. 1953. Caribou on the Yaak. Montana Wildlife. August.- Bergerud, A.T. 1973. Movement and rutting behavior of Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) at Mount Albert, Quebec. Canadian Field-Naturalist 87:357-369.
- Cameron, R.D. 1994. Reproductive pauses by female caribou. Journal of Mammalogy 75(1):10-13.
- Chadwick, D.H. 1982. Caribou south of the border? National Wildlife 20(5):40-42.
- Child, K.N. 1980. Caribou in British Columbia. Province of British Columbia, Ministry of the Environment Informational Pamphlet. 4 p.
- Drumheller, S. Biologists losing battle to save dwindling caribou. Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint, ID: The Spokesman Review.
- Drumheller, S. Caribou herd up for adoption. Coeur d'Alene, ID: The Spokesman-Review. 27 August 2000. p. A8.
- Evans, H.F. 1960. A preliminary investigation of caribou in northwestern United States. M.S. thesis. University of Montana, Missoula. 145 pp.
- Evans, H.F. 1964. An investigation of woodland caribou in northwestern United States. North American Wildife and Natural Resources Conference 29:445-453.
- Foresman, K.R. 2012. Mammals of Montana. Second edition. Mountain Press Publishing, Missoula, Montana. 429 pp.
- Gebrke, C. 1982. Prognosis gloomy for Idaho caribou. High Country News 14(21).
- Helena Independent Record. Are caribou hiding in the hills? Helena, MT: Independent Record. 15 February 1983.
- Helena Independent Record. No trace of caribou found in northwest Montana search. Helena, MT: Independent Record. 30 April 1986.
- Hoffmann, R.S. and D.L. Pattie. 1968. A guide to Montana mammals: identification, habitat, distribution, and abundance. Missoula, MT: University of Montana. 133 p.
- Jerry, D. 1984. Selkirk Mountain caribou management plan/recovery plan. Portland, OR: U.S. Fish Wildlife Service, Idaho Panhandle NF. 121 p.
- Joslin, Gayle, and Heidi B. Youmans. 1999. Effects of recreation on Rocky Mountain wildlife: a review for Montana. [Montana]: Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society.
- Manley, T.L. 1986. Status review of woodland caribou in Montana. Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Final Progress Report. 84 p.
- Miller, D.R. 1977. Feasibility of reintroducing caribou in Glacier National Park [1976 progress report]. P. 49 in K. L. McArthur, comp., 1976 Annual Research Summary, Glacier National Park. USDI National Park Service, Glacier National Park. 64 pp.
- Miller, D.R. 1977. The feasibility of reintroducing caribou in Glacier National Park: a preliminary study. Unpubl. Rep. 16 pp.
- National Audubon Society Newsletter. Truce calms Idaho caribou conflict. New York, NY: NAS Newsletter. June 1986. p. 3.
- Nelson Jr., L. and W. Baker. The woodland caribou: bigfoot of the Selkirks. Moscow, ID: USDA Forest Service and Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Pamphlet.
- Peterson, R. L. 1966. The mammals of eastern Canada. Oxford University Press. Toronto, Canada. 465 pp.
- Rominger, E. 1990. Research continues on augmentation of the southern Selkirk Mountain caribou herd. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin 15(8):1.
- Scott, M.D. and G. Servheen. 1985. Caribou ecology. Idaho Department of Fish & Game. Job completion report Project #W-160-R-12. 136 p.
- Servheen, G. and L.J. Lyon. 1989. Habitat use by woodland caribou in the Selkirk Mountains. The Journal of Wildlife Management. 53(1): 230-237.
- Stephenson, R.O., D.V. Grangaard and J. Burch. 1991. Lynx, Felis lynx, predation on red foxes, Vulpes vulpes, caribou, Rangifer tarandus, and Dall sheep, Ovis dalli, in Alaska. Can. Field-Nat. 105:255-262.
- USFWS. 1986. Proposed Rules List of Animal Petition Findings. Federal Register 51(6):997.
- Web Search Engines for Articles on "Woodland Caribou"
- Additional Sources of Information Related to "Mammals"
