| Porcupine caribou | |
|---|---|
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| Male Porcupine caribou (R. a. arcticus) grazing in Alaska | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Subfamily: | Capreolinae |
| Genus: | Rangifer |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | R. a. arcticus,
pearyi, fortidens, montanus, osborni, stonei, dawsoni (extinct) |
| Trinomial name | |
| Rangifer arcticus arcticus,
pearyi, fortidens, montanus, osborni, stonei, dawsoni (extinct)Richardson, 1829
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| Approximate range of Porcupine caribou in yellow. Overlap with other subspecies of caribou is possible for contiguous range. 1. Woodland caribou (Rangifer caribou), which is subdivided into ecotypes: boreal, migratory and mountain, 2. R. a. dawsoni (extinct 1908), 3. R. a. arcticus, 4. R. t. groenlandicus, 5. R. a. arcticus, 6. R. a. pearyi | |
The Porcupine caribou (Rangifer tarandus arcticus) is a herd or ecotype of barren-ground caribou, the subspecies of the reindeer or caribou found in Alaska, United States, and Yukon and the Northwest Territories, Canada.
Migratory caribou herds are named after their calving grounds, in this case the Porcupine River, which runs through a large part of the range of the Porcupine herd. Though numbers fluctuate, the herd comprises about 218,000 animals (based on a July 2017 photocensus).[1] They migrate over 1,500 mi (2,400 km) a year between their winter range and calving grounds at the Beaufort Sea, the longest land migration route of any land mammal on Earth. Their range spans the Alaska-Yukon border and is a valued resource cooperatively managed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Canadian wildlife agencies and local aboriginal peoples. The caribou are the primary sustenance of the Gwichʼin, a First Nations/Alaska Native people, who traditionally built their communities to align with the caribou's migration patterns. They are also routinely hunted by other indigenous peoples, including the Inupiat, the Inuvialuit, the Hän and the Northern Tutchone.
By July 2017, the Porcupine herd had reached a record high of about 202,000 to 235,000 animals. Sixteen years earlier, in 2001 the same herd was only half as large. While other barren-ground caribou herds have declined by 90%, the Porcupine herd has remained relatively stable.
- ^ Campbell, Cora (2 March 2011), Porcupine Caribou Herd shows growth, Press release, Juneau, Alaska: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, retrieved 27 January 2014