Porcupine Caribou

The Porcupine caribou or Grant's caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) is a subspecies of the caribou found in Alaska and adjacent parts of Canada. It resembles the Barren-ground Caribou (R. t. groenlandicus) and is sometimes included in it.

Their name does not derive from the animal porcupine, but from the Porcupine River which runs through a large part of their range. Though numbers fluctuate, the herd comprises over 125,000 animals which migrate over 1,500 miles (2,500 km) a year between their winter range and calving grounds, the longest land migration route of any land mammal on earth. They are the primary sustenance of the Gwichʼin, a First Nations/Alaska Native people, who traditionally built their communities based upon the caribou's migration patterns. They are also routinely hunted by other peoples, including the Inupiat, Inuvialuit, Hän, and Northern Tutchone. There is currently controversy over whether possible future oil drilling on the coastal plains of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, encompassing much of the Porcupine Caribou calving grounds, will have a severe negative impact on the caribou population or whether the caribou population will grow.