Excerpt from Teaching Unit on Caribou, Part One by Elmer Jackson
Caribou ~ Tuttu ~ Rangifer tarandus
The Inupiat, who live in the Northwest Arctic, are blessed with the caribou. For generations the caribou have offered of
themselves to the people who lived off the land and waters. They have sustained the people from time immemorial.
Every fall the caribou migrate together in the thousands. Their migration leads to their winter feeding grounds to the south.
When the sun shines warm in the spring, the females and calves lead the migration to the North Slope. When they arrive
to the place of their birth, the pregnant females give birth to their young. The large massive bulls are the last in the
migration. This is the time when their young antlers are covered with velvet. Feeding on the fresh sweet grasses, willow
leaves, lichens, and herbs, their antlers grow and will mature in the fall. The tuttu feeds and begin to gain fat reserves,
which are necessary for their survival during the winter. Their winter foods are the mosses and lichens. Other than
outrunning their predators, they defend themselves using their antlers that have hardened.
The habitat of the tuttu changes like the seasons. Their habitat is in the Arctic and Alpine tundra, near or above the
timberline. In the winter they feed in the tundra and taiga forests by digging into the snow with their large concave hooves.
They feed on tundra moss and lichen.
Fantastic Facts: Alaska is home to nearly a million caribou, in thirty-two herds. They travel greater distances twice each
year than any other land mammal, up to three thousand miles. The Western Arctic Caribou herd is estimated at 340,000.
Their migration takes them over the Kobuk, Noatak, and Squirrel Rivers. They cross channels, sloughs, and lakes. Their
migration takes them through the Baird and Schwatka Mountains, other hills and valleys. For many generations,
they have followed the trails made by other caribou before them.
The caribou are excellent swimmers. Their large concave hooves and hair fibers that are hollow, allow them to swim
across rivers, lakes, and streams. They are fast runners and can outrun their predators.
Every fall the Western Arctic herd travels across their traditional crossing place called Onion Portage, a settlement
where the Inupiat lived. In this special place people and the tuttu have shared the land for many generations. Remains
of tuttu bones are found at the old settlement.
The caribou and Mother Nature have provided the Inupiat with food for sustenance and the skin is tanned and
sewn into warm winter clothing.
Climate: Winter months in Inupiaq territory are very cold, dipping to -56F, with a summertime high of +78F, and summer
average of 40F. Total darkness prevails in this arctic community between November 18 and January 24 and the sun
never sets May 10 through August 2.
Today in Alaska the land of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge resembles the setting of the story in Caribou Girl.
For more information and a study guide on the refuge, caribou, and the Inupiaq, log onto the
Northern Alaska Environmental Center
To learn more about the caribou and life of the nomadic Nunamiut people, visit
Elmer Jackson's teaching unit posted on the web and
read Debbie Miller and Jon Van Zyle's picture book Caribou Journey.
