Connecting With Other Classrooms
To contribute to the discussions below send e-mail to: JN-Talk@Learner.org
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Teacher Connecting With Other Classrooms To contribute to the discussions below send e-mail to: JN-Talk@Learner.org
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In May, the caribou of Alaska and Canada start to travel to their
summer feeding grounds. Female caribou, called cows, move about 400 miles
north. The male caribou, called bulls, follow a few weeks later, along with
their yearlings.
Broad hooves help caribou do many things. They help them cross the
harsh lands, they act like snow shoes in deep snow and like paddles in the
water, and the sharp edges help them get good footing on rocky hillsides and
slick ice. With the scoop shaped undersides of their hooves, caribou can dig
through the snow to find food. Each animal clears many feeding holes every
day.
As they travel, the caribou shed their winter coats. By June, the cows
and their calves have arrived at their summer pastures.
Caribou usually have one offspring a year. Their calves develop
quickly. At birth, a caribou can stand on its feet in a few minutes. New
calves nurse often at first, but after six months, they eat plants. In cool
summer pastures, caribou feed on grasses and on the leaves of shrubs and other
plants. An adult eats about 12 pounds of food each day.
A caribou is 4-5 feet tall at the shoulder. It weighs 240-700 pounds.
Caribou live in tundras, northern forests, and mountain upland from western
Greenland to northern Asia. It lives up to 15 years in the wild. It usually
has one calf after a pregnancy of 8 months.
Caribou
by Alex Meyers
Caribou are found in Scandinavia, Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and the
former Soviet Union. They are constantly fleeing from bad weather, seeking
pastures and escaping form enemies. Like all reindeer, they have antlers which
are strong branching bones that come out of the reindeer's skull. They oftn use
them for fighting enemies. Every year, antlers fall off and grow back again.
Male reindeer's antlers fall off through Nov./Dec. Female antlers fall off
through May/June.
In Spring they travel north to summer feeding grounds and then return
to the southern grounds. In Fall, they return to the summer grounds to find
shelter from the bitter winter storms. In the beginning of Fall they move
south.
Caribou eat lichen, grasses, and twigs.
K12robzj@hofstra.edu or jberger@dorsai.org
Joan Berger
Internet Educational Consultant
Roslyn, New York * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
FAX (516)826-0358 * "...for the world is hollow *
* and I have touched the sky!"*
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**Visit the East Hills School WEB SITE at http://www.dorsai.org/~jberger/
© Journey North 1996