Introductory
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Rangifer tarandus | Caribou 



ABBREVIATION : 
RATA

COMMON NAMES : 
   caribou
   woodland caribou
   barren-ground caribou
   reindeer
   American tundra reindeer
   Grant's caribou
   Alaskan barren-ground caribou
   Peary caribou
   Peary reindeer


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name for caribou is Rangifer tarandus.
There are five subspecies of caribou in the United States and Canada,
and a sixth ssp. is extinct.  All six ssp. are listed below [5]:

        Rangifer tarandus ssp. caribou  (woodland caribou)
        R. tarandus ssp. groenlandicus
        R. tarandus ssp. pearyi  (Peary caribou)
        R. tarandus ssp. granti
        R. tarandus ssp. eogroenlandicus
        R. tarandus ssp. dawsoni, extinct


ORDER : 
Artiodactyla

CLASS : 
Mammal

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
The woodland caribou is federally listed as endangered [33].

OTHER STATUS : 
The woodland caribou is  listed by the State of Washington as endangered [37].  Occasionally individuals of this subspecies wander into Montana [26].  Reintroduction programs in Maine have been unsuccessful [22].

In Canada, the woodland caribou is listed as vulnerable in Alberta,
British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Ontario, and
Saskatechewan, and threatened in Quebec.  The Peary caribou is listed
as threatened in Northwest Territories [38].


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
S. A. Snyder, July 1991


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Snyder, S. A. 1991. Rangifer tarandus. In: Remainder of Citation

Related categories for Wildlife Species: Rangifer tarandus | Caribou