Although there are a lot of similarities
between caribous and reindeers, and at times people would even
mistake them as the same animal, the differences between them are enough to
classify them as two different subspecies.
Caribous
and Reindeers share a similar genus, Rangifer. They are
also under the same species name, tarandus. One of the major differences
between these animals is domestication. Reindeers are semidomesticated Rangifer
subspecies while caribous are considered as wild in Alaska and nearby areas.
Caribou |
Both the female and male caribous and
reindeers grow antlers, which is a common trait in all deer species, although
female reindeer antlers tend to grow larger compared to the female caribous.
Most of their distinguishing traits and
differences are said to be caused by domestication. For example, reindeers tend
to be stouter, shorter and less active compared to caribous. Although both
animals migrate within a grazing range, reindeers don’t go as far as caribous
do when migrating during winter.
Reindeer |
Male reindeers are smaller compered to male
caribous, but female reindeers generally have the same weight as female
caribous. Reindeers also have denser and thicker fur than caribous, but the fur
on both these subspecies have hollow guards which help keeps them warm during
the harsh colder seasons.
Reindeers also start mating about 2 to 4
weeks earlier than caribous. Reindeer calves are born during the last week of
April whereas caribou calves start coming out during the last few days of May.
In North America, wild Rangifer are called
caribous. While in Eurasia, they are only categorized as wither wild or
domesticated reindeers.
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