5 Ways Climate Affects Caribou

The words "5 Ways Climate Change Affects Caribou" are written in yellow with an icon of a brown caribou with large antlers in the bottom right corner.

Text reads:

"More wildfires lead to less lichen, as lichen can take decades to recover, and is an important food source for caribou in the winter."

"Climate change can also result in more winter icing events, which trap food under thick layers of ice. When caribou can't dig through, it can lead to malnutrition, and in some cases, death."

"Mosquitos & parasitic flies thrive in warmer summer temps, and these insects cause trouble for caribou health by causing blood loss and laying eggs on their skin and in their nose."

"Warming temps alter the plants caribou eat. While some changes may be beneficial, such as greater abundance of key shrubs, others may bring reduced forage quality."

"Some caribou populations need to traverse sea ice or frozen lakes and rivers during long-distance migrations between summer and winter ranges. But warming temperatures are changing the timing of ice formation and break-up, altering traditional migration patterns."

Graphic by Courtenay Duzet & Louise Johansson. Icons from the Integration and Application Network (http://ow.ly/6XJq50LL94X).