O
ne of the world's most massive animal
migrations is by the caribou of the
Arctic. The herds are so large that if you're
close enough, you can literally feel the
ground shake.
Alaska is home to more than half a million
caribou in seven migrating herds. The
Porcupine Herd, some 170,000 animals
strong, winters south of Alaska's Brooks
Range and in the Yukon but migrates north
to the Arctic Coastal Plain for calving.
The largest is the Western Arctic herd
which contains over 350,000 caribou that
migrate through the Kobuk Valley National
Park and travel north in the spring and
south in the fall. That's a distance of about
400 miles as the crow flies, but satellite
Caribou
Credit: BMJ/ Shutterstock
tracking shows that the animals might
actually zig and zag over 3,000 miles a
year to complete the round trip. Pregnant
females and yearlings lead the migration
through the Brooks Range Mountains in
May and June and are followed by bulls
and calves. The largest populations can be
seen in late June.
Although the caribou cross through remote
tundra near the Arctic Circle, there are
places you can go on a caribou safari. Make
your way to the Iniakuk Lake Wilderness
Lodge to witness caribou migrating past
your front porch. The lodge is in the
wilderness of the Brooks Mountain Range
and is close to Kobuk Valley National Park.
