Caribou
Excerpted from Chapter 2, Caribou, from the 416-page book, Hunting in Alaska: A Comprehensive Guide. Copyright, 1998, Christopher Batin. You can find it at www.alaskahunter.com or calling 907-455-8000 24 hours a day, to order.
JUDGING RACKS
![[IMAGE Measure that rack]](../images/pictur3.jpg)
Most hunters from the Lower 48 are familiar with seeing and judging deer racks. They don't realize that even a small caribou has a rack three to four times that of a deer. For most, the caribou is the largest antlered animal they've seen in their life. If they shoot a small bull, they quickly realize their mistake when a large bull trots by.
ANTLER GROWTH
Caribou are the only deer species
where both males and females have antlers. Even the youngest caribou, a month
after it's born, has two spike horns. But without question, the bull's antlers
are the most impressive.
Bulls begin growing their antlers in late April.
During the months of May and June, the main branches appear. In July, the
various tines and branches start to form and the antlers take on a mature
form. In August, the antler tips fill out and the caribou begins to scrape
velvet the last of August or first part of September.
A cow's antler growth is about a half-year out of
phase with that of a bull. Cows lose their velvet in late October and carry
their antlers until late spring. During the winter months, the antlerless
bulls must often give in to the cows' wishes. It's extremely common to see
cows prod bulls away from choice feeding areas. This may be an evolutionary
adaptation to allow the cows preference for choice food, to nourish themselves
as well as the young they are carrying.
When non-resident hunters see a mature, bull caribou
rack up close for the first time, they are astounded. It will sport two main
beams, each sweeping back from the forehead before flaring upward and outward,
stretching up to 50 inches or more. A pair a brow tines or shovels stretch out
from the main beam, reaching far out onto the nose. A bez tine branches off
the main beam a short distance above the brow tine. The terminal portion of
the main beam is usually flattened or palmated and divided into a number of
rearward facing tines.
Antlers of a bull increase in size and dimension
each year. They are at their peak when the caribou is between six and nine
years of age. After that, the antlers become smaller with age. Antlers of the
cow change little in size and mass after they are two years old.
The hunter looking for a good caribou trophy should
keep in mind that caribou antlers come in two distinctive categories: V-shaped
antlers and wide, rounded or U-shaped antlers. A frontal view of the animal is
usually the best way to distinguish between the two. Both types can be found
in the same herd, with numerous intermediate variations. There also seems to
exist a difference between herds. Caribou from the 40 Mile herd exhibit
V-shaped antlers with short, thick beams, numerous tines and a narrow spread.
Caribou from the Alaska Peninsula seem to have the characteristic U-shaped
antlers with long, spindly beams and tines.
Olaus Murie (1935) conducted some pioneering work on
caribou antlers. He classified them into three categories:
1. Round horns with a minimum of palmation throughout.
2. Flat horns, in which the palmation occurs as a general flattening of the
beam toward the tip.
3. Palmated horns, in which the definite, somewhat circular "palm"
appears at the end of the beam and principal branches.
The latter category is the type that most qualify for
record-book consideration, and is of the most interest to sportsmen who are
looking for an impressive trophy mount.
Of course, caribou antlers
come in many variations, from simple to extreme. I've seen antlers that come
out of the skull almost horizontally before sweeping up at the end with small
but heavily tined palmation. This type of rack would never make the record
book, but it's one worth taking based on its unusual configuration. In other
words, don't expect all caribou racks to be perfectly symmetrical. The
unusual-growth antlers make just as good, if not better, trophy mounts.
Another obsession among hunters is a "double
shovel" rack. This is where the brow tine develops into a shovel or
palmation on both sides. Normally, a mere spike and a shovel are found on most
caribou. Some guides say that one out of every 5,000 caribou has a double
shovel. From the caribou that I've seen, I'd say that a double shovel is more
along the lines of seven to 10 percent of the population of a herd. Of course,
the frequency of double-shovels varies with herd size, location, and mortality
factors.
When alarmed at close range, the caribou has two means of propulsion:
the gallop and the trot. Banfield (1951) reported caribou galloping across a
frozen lake at 45 to 50 miles per hour. This speed, however, can only be
maintained for a short distance, as caribou soon become winded.
When modestly alarmed, the caribou will break into a
high-stepping trot, much like that of a pure-bred, champion quarter horse. The
caribou bull's head is held horizontally, with its rack stretching out over
his back. His arched forelegs are thrust out in swift, deliberate movements.
The caribou is also a good swimmer. The animals
frequently ford major rivers and streams on their annual migrations. In the
Western Arctic Herd region of the state, it's not uncommon to find mats of
caribou hair where the herds have crossed a river. Due to the excellent
insulating quality of the hair, it is often used by interior Eskimos as
stuffing for mattresses.
If caribou hunting frustrates you, don't be discouraged. A variety of
factors are responsible for the caribou's "restlessness." They are a
gregarious species, always on the move for an adequate supply of food. Also
influencing a herd is weather, and geographical structures (mountains,
valleys, large lakes, and glaciers).
Even biologists find the caribou a frustrating
animal. Skoog, in his 1956 thesis on the Fortymile caribou herd, wrote a
paragraph about the caribou that still applies today:
"When the author first began this study, he
frequently became quite discouraged, because the caribou seemed to thwart his
every plan. But after three years of experience, he has come to realize that
defeat normally occurs quite often in one's dealings with caribou."