The Barren Ground Caribou of Keewatin Part 11

At the onset of this season, the bucks neglect their feeding to some extent; consequently those killed have stomachs only partly filled, instead of completely filled, as at other times. By mid-October their fat becomes tinted with reddish, and the whole flesh becomes so rank and musky that it is disdained not only by human beings but even by the Wolves. This condition seems to be considerably more p.r.o.nounced in the Caribou than in the White-tailed Deer. The hunters forego eating the old bucks for a period of several weeks. Meanwhile the younger bucks, not engaged in mating, remain fit to eat. Hearne (1795: 69) reported the flesh of bucks as still unpalatable as late as December 30.

The rutting season is said to continue through October into November.

The end of the period is uncertain, but it may coincide with the shedding of the antlers of the old bucks.

_References._--Hearne, 1795: 72, 198-199; Richardson, "1825": 327-328, 1829: 243, and 1861: 274; Pike, 1917 (1892): 48, 90; J. W. Tyrrell, 1908 (1898): 80; Hanbury, 1904: 73; Stone and Cram, 1904: 52; Blanchet, 1925: 33; Birket-Smith, 1929 (1): 51, 56; Seton, 1929, +3+: 124-125; Jacobi, 1931: 232; Sutton and Hamilton, 1932: 81, 84-86; Weyer, 1932: 40; Ingstad, 1933: 158; Hornby, 1934: 105; Murie, 1939: 244; Manning, 1943a: 52; Banfield, 1951a: 10, 26, 31.

_Fawns_

Since the fawning takes place far to the north of the Nueltin Lake region, practically no local information concerning it was obtained.

Charles Schweder stated that in the spring migration the pregnant does pa.s.s to an undetermined distance north of the upper Kazan River (below Ennadai Lake). Although the migration at Nueltin Lake continues throughout June, the rearguard is composed largely of bucks, and the comparatively few does accompanying them toward the last may be barren.

Fisher (1821: 199) and Parry (1821: 183) report a small fawn of _R.

pearyi_ on Melville Island on June 2. Richardson states ("1825": 329) that the young are born in May and June. There is evidently some geographical and individual variation in the time of birth (_cf._ Jacobi, 1931: 232). Apparently the gestation period in the Caribou covers approximately eight months or a little less. In the domesticated Reindeer it is 231 to 242 days, according to Jacobi (1931: 234); in the White-tailed Deer, 205 to 212 days, according to Seton (1929, +3+: 258).

Fred Schweder, Jr., stated that he had never found more than a single unborn fawn in any one of the animals he had secured; yet he has seen as many as four fawns following a doe. Of course there is no proof that this individual was the actual mother of so many fawns; a stray or bereaved youngster might well endeavor to attach itself to a foster mother. On August 28, at Little River, I saw a doe being followed by two fawns. On September 16 Fred reported seeing three old does without fawns. Presumably most of the does do not bear young until they are two years old (_cf._ Jacobi, 1931: 235); thus many yearling does without family cares should be observed during the summer.

On September 12 Charles Schweder stated that the does would soon be losing their milk; yet on occasion he has found them with milk as late as November (_cf._ Jacobi, 1931: 235). On September 21, when he secured a doe (fig. 21) that was accompanied by a fawn, I asked if he thought the latter was still nursing. By way of answer, he squeezed a couple of the doe's mammae, and some milk exuded. Thus the mammary glands were still functioning at that date; they appeared well developed. By August 27, at an age of perhaps two and a half months, the fawns were browsing on their own account, and their teeth were well developed. Fred Schweder, Jr., then spoke of having seen fawns nursing four times during that month, the last occasion having been on the 25th. On the 27th I had the rare privilege of witnessing such a nursery rite across the mouth of Little River. The wilderness baby was so large that it was obliged to lower its forequarters very decidedly in order to reach the maternal font (from a lateral position). This att.i.tude left its hind quarters thrust high and ludicrously into the air. I did not notice that it wriggled its tail as a bovine calf might have; but Charles Schweder spoke of having seen a fawn hold its tail erect while nursing. He also said that the bigger fawns kneel down with their front legs while so engaged. In his opinion, when a doe is killed in the autumn, its fawn does not go and join other Caribou, but lingers near the fatal spot until a Wolf or some other enemy overcomes it. For this reason it is his practice to secure the fawn also, if possible, when he takes the mother.

On September 13 a fawn remained by its dead mother, permitting one of the hunters to approach within 30 feet and to throw rocks at it three times, finally taking it by that means. After a doe was killed on September 21, its fawn lingered in the vicinity for a day or two.

_References._--Franklin, 1823: 242; Richardson, "1825": 329; John Ross, 1835a: 432; Simpson, 1843: 277, 281, 381; J.

McLean, 1932 (1849): 359; Armstrong, 1857: 477-478; Murray, 1858: 202; Osborn, 1865: 227; Nourse, 1884: 264-265; Pike, 1917 (1892): 204, 209; Dowling, 1893: 107: Russell, 1895: 51; R. M.

Anderson, 1913b: 504-505; Hewitt, 1921: 62; Blanchet, 1926b: 47; Seton, 1929, +3+: 124-125; Blanchet, 1930: 49, 53; Critch.e.l.l-Bullock, 1930: 192, 193; Sutton and Hamilton, 1932: 86; Ingstad, 1933: 161; Clarke, 1940: 88-90; Gavin, 1945: 228; Banfield, 1951a: 26, 27; Scott, 1951: 179, 180; Barnett, 1954: 96.

_Growth_

During late August and early September the fawns probably averaged about 50 lb. in weight. (For the measurements of two specimens, see the section on _Measurements_.) Yet they varied so much in size that some appeared nearly twice as big as others. On September 7 an exceptionally small fawn was secured (estimated weight, 35 lb.) (fig. 23). Its coat was soft and woolly, representing an earlier stage than that seen in any of the other fawns of that season. It was molting into the next pelage, and its hide was unprime. It must have been born at an unusually late date. Fred Schweder, Jr., remarked that he sometimes sees this stage in the growth of fawns when the Caribou come down early from the north (about the first of August), but it seems remarkable that it should have been found in a September fawn. The present specimen has actually smaller measurements than one secured on August 2 at Artillery Lake (Seton, 1929, +3+: 97). The collector reported that the parent doe appeared of ordinary size--not a particularly small or young one. The yearlings noted on the spring migration in May (south of Churchill) and in June (at Nueltin Lake) appeared roughly half the size of the adults.

Evidently several years are required for the attainment of full growth.

The younger adult bucks, with smaller antlers, are appreciably inferior in body size to the older bucks, with better developed antlers.

_References._--Seton, 1929, +3+: 97, 98; Banfield, 1951a: 30.

_Antlers_

In late August and early September antlers were already in evidence on the fawns, at an age of less than three months. They consisted of bony k.n.o.bs, covered with skin, and were an inch or two long. I obtained no information as to when the fawns may shed the velvet or the antlers themselves. By a.n.a.logy with the Reindeer (_cf._ Jacobi, 1931: 237), the fawns might be expected to drop their antlers in late winter.

When the adult Caribou return from the north in August, the antlers of all are still in the velvet. However, completely hornless does are not particularly uncommon at this season; in Charles Schweder's opinion, some remain permanently in that condition. Hornless does are reported in various forms of Caribou or Reindeer in both hemispheres (Jacobi, 1931: 48). I saw also a few one-horned does on the autumn migration. In a single group of three adult does photographed at close range on August 28, one was hornless and another one-horned (fig. 11). A considerable proportion of my other photographs of Caribou groups at this season show one or more animals with a single antler or none. The hornless condition appears to be astonis.h.i.+ngly more common in Keewatin than in regions farther west. Stefansson, whose field operations were chiefly in northern Mackenzie and southwestern Franklin, remarks (1913b: 151) on having found, at any season when Caribou are normally horned, just three hornless animals among a thousand at whose killing he had been present.

Murie (1935: 20) speaks of having observed only one hornless doe in Alaska, in September.

By late August the bucks' antlers have attained nearly their full growth, though still in the velvet. The largest head of the season was obtained on August 22. Its measurements were: right antler, in straight line from base to tip of longest p.r.o.ng, 995; left antler, 980; distance between main tips of the two antlers, 620; brow tine, from base to upper tip, 335; to lower tip, 290. For the older bucks, the princ.i.p.al period for shedding the velvet is September 10 to 20, although Charles Schweder once observed a buck that had completed the process by September 1, and Fred secured one in that condition on September 6, 1947. In Alaska old bucks shed the velvet more or less regularly in September (Murie, 1935: 26). Sick or wounded animals are said to retain the velvet for an indefinite period. For example, a buck secured on September 29 had some velvet hanging in shreds from the tips of its antlers, and it was found to have been shot in the mouth sometime previously. The younger bucks and the does lose their velvet somewhat later than the older bucks (say toward the end of September). In a doe of September 21 (fig. 21) the antlers were covered with velvet and still had soft tips. A young buck of October 2 was just shedding the velvet.

Charles Schweder spoke of noting as many as 30-33 points on the antlers of old bucks. (He probably included the brow and the bez tines in this count.) He also referred to an exceptional set of antlers at Simons'

Lake with about 40 points; he had first noted it about 10 years previously, and it had doubtless been there for years before that. He had never been able to secure its equal. When I saw and photographed it in October (fig. 25), some of the points were broken off, so that an accurate count was impossible; but there must have been close to 40 originally, even without the brow tines, which were missing. The palmation was much broader than I have seen in any other Caribou.

The p.r.o.ng projecting backward at the angle of the main beam is by no means so uncommon in the animals of this region as a Chipewyan hunter seemed to indicate to Downes (1943: 227-228).

Charles Schweder found a pair of locked antlers about 1940 near Josie's Bay. This was the only case of which he had any knowledge. An instance of locked antlers in _Rangifer pearyi_ is mentioned by Peary (1907: 84).

There is marked variation in the dates of shedding the antlers, according to s.e.x, age, and physiological condition of the individual.

This has resulted in various conflicting statements in the literature.

In the present region, the old bucks with 25 or more points are said to shed their antlers about the end of October or in November, at the close of the rutting season. (Fred Schweder, Jr., encountered a hornless buck as early as November 7, 1947.) The younger bucks, with 15 to 20 points, and the does retain their antlers till late May or June of the following year. A doe of June 3 and another of June 16 were still horned. In Alaska "the young bucks may carry their old antlers until late in April, while does carry theirs until the middle of May, some of them until June" (Murie, 1935: 26).

John Ingebrigtsen reported having seen two or three shallow lakes, between Churchill and (South?) Knife Lake, whose bottoms were fairly covered with caribou antlers. They were visible through clear ice. It appears probable that these lakes, while ice-covered, were favored resorts of large numbers of Caribou for their midday or nocturnal rests at a period when they were shedding their antlers (November for the old bucks, May or June for the does and young bucks).

It is natural that the season at which the new antlers of the Barren Ground Caribou begin to grow should vary greatly according to s.e.x and age, just as the shedding of the antlers does; probably also, for the various forms of _Rangifer_, according to locality (_cf._ Jacobi, 1931: 237). On Southampton Island "the new antlers begin to appear in the males in March and April" (Sutton and Hamilton, 1932: 85). In Alaska Murie (1935: 24) "has found old bucks late in April with velvet k.n.o.bs well begun." Seton's account (1929, +3+: 102-103) of the seasonal change of antlers is not only meager but largely at variance with the information I a.s.sembled in Keewatin. Recently gathered information is supplied by Banfield (1951a: 17-18).

Measurements of the length of antlers in the velvet (right and left, respectively) were recorded as follows: adult male, June 18, 420, 440; adult male (figs. 3, 4), August 17, 1165, 1205; adult female (fig. 21), September 21, 220, 165.

Scratching or anointing of antlers in the velvet with a hind hoof was observed in an adult buck on June 16, and in a fawn on August 27.

While there is undoubtedly some correlation between the age of a Caribou and the number of points on its antlers, I am not aware that such a correlation has been worked out to a satisfactory degree. The Schweder brothers judged a Caribou's years by the number of points on both antlers, yet freely admitted that they had limited confidence in such a criterion. Probably they would be nearer the actual facts if they counted the points on only one antler. The situation is complicated by the fact (if we are to credit Jacobi, 1931: 238) that bucks in other forms of _Rangifer_ exhibit the best development of antlers at six to eight years.

_References._--Hearne, 1795: 198-199; Franklin, 1823: 240-241; Lyon, 1824: 270; Richardson, "1825": 327-328, and 1829: 241; Richardson, in Back, 1836: 499; Armstrong, 1857: 478; Murray, 1858: 199-206; B. R. Ross, 1861: 439; Osborn, 1865: 227; Pike, 1917 (1892): 49; J. B. Tyrrell, 1892: 128; Dowling, 1893: 107; Russell, 1895: 51, and 1898: 225; Whitney, 1896: 238-239; J. W.

Tyrrell, 1908 (1898): 79-80; A. J. Stone, 1900: 53; W. J.

McLean, 1901: 6; Elliot, 1902: 279-280; Hanbury, 1904: 95, 116, 133; Hornaday, 1904: 138; J. A. Allen, 1908a: 488; R. M.

Anderson, 1913b: 505; Stefansson, 1913b: 151; Buchanan, 1920: 126; Blanchet, 1925: 33, 1926b: 47-48, and 1930: 49; Birket-Smith, 1929 (1): 50, 89, 239-251; Seton, 1929, +3+: 102-103; Critch.e.l.l-Bullock, 1930: 192; Jacobi, 1931: 237; Sutton and Hamilton, 1932: 81-86; Ingstad, 1933: 159; Hornby, 1934: 105; Murie, 1935: 20, and 1939: 244; Clarke, 1940: 95; Downes, 1943: 228; Manning, 1943a: 52-53; Harper, 1949: 228; Banfield, 1951a: 17-18; Barnett, 1954: 104.

_Rubbing trees_

Charles Schweder gave the following account. The bucks hasten the shedding of the velvet in the autumn by rubbing their antlers on various trees--willow, spruce, or tamarack. The individual may complete the operation in possibly half a day. It is thought, however, that most of the velvet comes off at the first tree. The animals usually select a tree standing by itself rather than one in a thicket. It is usually a small tree--say 4 feet high and 1 inch in diameter. Perhaps a spruce is most often selected. Branches are broken and much of the bark is sc.r.a.ped off in the process. The velvet soon dries up, so that it is little noticed. Charles did not recall having seen any hanging in a tree.

The numbers of rubbing trees that I noticed at Simons' Lake in mid-October indicated that Caribou must have been much more numerous there during the previous month than in the vicinity of the Windy River post. These trees were particularly in evidence on the outskirts of a spruce and tamarack thicket at the head of the lake. They were mostly tamaracks, with some black spruces. Of the two spruces shown in figure 26, the larger was about 4 feet high. Many of the young trees had been killed. The branches and the tops had been pretty generally broken off and were lying on the ground. Most of the damage was fresh, but some of it dated from previous years.

_Reference._--Hanbury, 1904: 232.

MORPHOLOGY AND TAXONOMY

_Pelage and molt_

When the Caribou migrate northward through the Nueltin Lake region in May and June, they still retain their winter pelage. It is now worn and faded, and harsh as well, in contrast to the fresh, dark, soft autumn coat.

This stage is represented by an adult buck (No. 1046) of June 18. The general color above is Cream-Buff (capitalized color terms are derived from Ridgway, 1912), changing gradually to Isabella Color on sides of head and body; no distinct dark longitudinal stripe on lower sides (such as appears in summer and autumn pelage); tail Cream-Buff above, the rest Cartridge Buff; rump-patch varying from Cartridge Buff to Cream-Buff; tip of snout and chin dirty whitish; small area below nostrils near Mummy Brown; triangular area behind nostrils Cream-Buff; crown Cartridge Buff; ears Olive-Buff on outer surface, Cartridge Buff on inner surface; posterior venter Cartridge Buff; legs Isabella Color in front, remainder Cream-Buff; hoofs black, bordered above with Cartridge Buff hairs, forming a band -2 inches in width; antler velvet in this and other specimens Olive-Brown. The marked difference between the dark brownish and white pelage of the autumn and the Cream-Buff coat of early June presumably results from wear and fading, without molt. The does and the yearlings in June appear grayer than the adult bucks.

In another adult male (No. 1033), collected June 3, the darker part of the pelage is Buffy Brown rather than Cream-Buff.

The molt of the bucks begins in June but takes place chiefly in July, while the animals are somewhere to the north of the Nueltin Lake region.

On their return in August they have largely completed their summer transformation in appearance. A buck of August 17 had just a little of the winter fur still clinging to its lower back; and another on August 20 was in similar condition. At this season the white mane is developed only on its lower portion (figs. 9, 10, 12), but by the end of September the white has spread upward over practically the whole neck (fig. 22), and in some cases over the shoulders.

In an adult male (No. 1144) of October 16, representing the pelage of the rutting season, the posterior crown is near Tilleul Buff, the anterior crown somewhat browner; sides of head and upper throat between Verona Brown and Buffy Brown; area about and between eyes somewhat darker; triangular area behind nostrils (apex extending halfway to eyes) and lower chin between Mummy Brown and Warm Blackish Brown; tip of snout and chin Cartridge Buff; ears pale creamy white on both surfaces; whole neck and shoulder mantle whitish, washed with Cartridge Buff, and changing gradually to the brownish of the sides of the head; long hairs along median ventral line of the neck tipped with Natal Brown; dorsal area, from shoulders to rump, Prout's Brown; stripe on lower sides Mummy Brown, separated from dorsal area by an ill-defined lighter stripe, mixed with whitish hairs; top of tail slightly paler than back, the rest white; small rump-patch mostly white; chest Mummy Brown; mid-venter varying from Deep Olive-Buff anteriorly to Cream-Buff posteriorly; posterior venter white; forelegs near Bone Brown; hind legs between Mummy Brown and Olive-Brown, with a pale spot on the inner side of the heel (this spot noticeable also in doe and fawn); hoofs black, bordered above with whitish hairs. The hides of this specimen and of two other adult bucks (No. 1111, September 29, and No. 1132, October 16) were prime. The dark lateral stripe, which shows quite distinctly in summer and fall specimens of both s.e.xes (figs. 7, 8, 10, 21, 22), from fawns (except very young ones) to adults, and which is also a prominent feature in Old World Reindeer (_cf._ Flerov, 1933), has been largely or wholly overlooked in some descriptions of _Rangifer a. arcticus_.

The summer molt occurs later in the does than in the bucks. Some of the former return toward the end of August while still retaining most of the winter pelage. Others exhibit remnants of it in patches, especially on the lower back; this was true even of an adult doe (No. 1101) secured as late as September 21 (fig. 21). Its hide, however, was prime. In this specimen the crown is near Verona Brown, with varying admixture of whitish hairs; sides of head Verona Brown; upper throat a little paler; a poorly defined area behind nostrils, and lower chin, Mummy Brown; tip of snout and chin Cartridge Buff; ears Drab, varying to Pale Olive-Buff, especially on inner surface; neck Drab dorsally, mixed with whitish hairs, the remainder Pale Olive-Buff; dorsal area, from shoulder to rump, Mars Brown; lateral stripe on lower sides Mars Brown, separated from dorsal area by a poorly defined but conspicuous area of Light Cinnamon-Drab; top of tail like back, the rest whitish, washed laterally with Pale Pinkish Buff; small rump-patch mostly white; chest Mummy Brown; venter Light Drab, becoming whitish in inguinal region; forelegs Natal Brown, slightly darker in front; hind legs Natal Brown, with a pale spot on the inner edge of the heel; hoofs black, bordered above with whitish "spats" varying from to 1 inches in width.