We had heard about caribou sighting up in the Northern Peninsula, and have been periodically warned about their crossing, but with wildlife sighting, some times it's all about luck.
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| Caribou road sign Source: Trafficsignstore.com |
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| Moose road sign Source: Trafficsignstore.com |
*Note how the caribou antlers are skinny branch like, while the moose has wide antlers a bit like the palm of of hands.
Since I'm on the roll with animal warning road signs, I'm going to include the signs of the rest of the deer family.
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| Elk road sign Source: Trafficsignstore.com |
Elk is the second largest of the deer family after moose. The elk also has skinny antlers like the caribou, but don't worry, you will never see signs for both of them in the same region. The elk is mostly in western Canada and parts of the United states, while the caribou is found much further north. The elk also has thicker fur on the neck, while the caribou has a lighter coloured fur on the neck that resembles a beard. Here is a website which describes the difference between elk and caribou.
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| Deer road sign Source: Trafficsignstore.com |
I guess they ran out of ideas on how to distinguish between the caribou, elk and deer, so they name the deer sign jumping. If the signs were a photo and not a mere black silhouette, it would be easier to tell the three deer apart.
Between St Barbe and St Anthony:
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| Why did the caribou cross the road? |
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| Because there was less snow covering the lichens on the other side?! |
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| He/she is beautiful. Caribou is the only deer where the female grows and sheds antlers like the males. |
Between Arches Provincial Park and Port-au-Choix:
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| In their environment |
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| Close up They have been quite easy to spot, because their light colouered winter coast create a good contrast with the dark and barren land. |
Last fact of the day. Are caribou reindeer? They sure look alike. It turns out reindeers are in the same classification as caribou, except that it is the domesticated form. They got domesticated by Santa Clause. Caribou are the wild herds that can't be domesticated.
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