COMMON NAMES: Caribou, Reindeer
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Rangifer tarandusAPPEARANCE:
|
ADAPTATIONS:
- Body is compact and stocky with a short tail and small ears to prevent heat loss
- Veins and arteries in legs run side by side so it warms up the blood returning
- Has 2 very large circulation systems
- One running through the body
- Other runs through the legs and is 50 degrees Fahrenheit colder
- Large fur-covered flat split-hooves for gripping ice and walking on snow (migrations)
- Hollow for digging
- Can spread hooves apart to bear more weight
- Warm thick coat
- Extreme cold during the winter
- Insects and pests during the summer
- Seasonal colored coats for cryptic coloration
- Grayish white in the winter
- Brown in the summer
- Food during summer is same as other grazers, but during the winter, they can survive by eating only lichen
- Smell it under snow and dig it up
- Special bacteria in stomach that helps digest it
- Hollow insulated hairs rooted in a thick layer of fat
- Eat large amounts of food to keep from freezing
- Noses have a chamber that warms up the air before it freezes their lungs
- Double coat, down holds air and insulates, outer coat is filled with air, insulation
- More buoyant
FUN FACT: Caribou have scent glands on their ankles which are used when danger is nearby. They rise onto their hind legs and release a scent which alerts nearby caribou that there is danger near.