Porcupine caribou have been going to the same place on the Arctic coast to give birth for more than 3,000 years, a new study suggests.
Researchers say the findings highlight the role played by the Coastal Plain, in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, in maintaining caribou populations both today and over thousands of years.
The Porcupine herd is one of the largest caribou herds in the world, numbering roughly 218,000 as of 2017. Its range covers parts of Alaska, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. In the spring, the animals make their way to their calving grounds throughout the Coastal Plain in Alaska and Ivvavik National Park in the Yukon.
Ancient antlers show caribou calving grounds persist over millennia
Researchers say the findings highlight the role played by the Coastal Plain, in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, in maintaining caribou populations both today and over thousands of years.
The Porcupine herd is one of the largest caribou herds in the world, numbering roughly 218,000 as of 2017. Its range covers parts of Alaska, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. In the spring, the animals make their way to their calving grounds throughout the Coastal Plain in Alaska and Ivvavik National Park in the Yukon.
Ancient antlers show caribou calving grounds persist over millennia