Selkirk Caribou

A cloudy spring day finds a woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus) in the mountainous, conifer terrain typical of that found in the mountains of southern British Columbia, northern Idaho and northeast Washington where a tiny population of these animals survive. Add your own text. Known as the International Selkirk population, there are less than thirty animals remaining. They are known as mountain caribou because they migrate to high alpine peaks in the winter where they survive by eating lichens growing on coniferous trees.. The worldwide population of mountain caribou has plummeted recently to fewer than 2000, in small, isolated populations at severe risk of disappearing. The animals are disappearing due to climate change and habitat destruction. Mountain caribou were once much more common found in northern forests from Maine to Washington state. It is very sad that we are losing these beautiful animals along with many, many other species.