Are Reindeer and Caribou the Same Animal? Names Explained

One species, two names

Scientists recognize a single species, Rangifer tarandus, spread around the Arctic and subarctic of Europe, Asia and North America. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) puts it simply: reindeer is the European name for the species, while in North America it is known as caribou. The reindeer profile covers the species as a whole.

The split in names reflects history and geography rather than biology. English speakers in Britain learned of the animal through Scandinavia, where reindeer were herded by the Sámi. French and English settlers in Canada met the wild herds through Indigenous peoples and adopted a local name for them.

Where the words come from

Reindeer comes from Old Norse hreinn, the word for the animal, joined to an old word for animal that became English “deer.” Despite a popular belief, it has nothing to do with the reins of a sled.

Caribou reached English through Canadian French. It is based on qalipu, a word in the Mi’kmaq language of eastern Canada usually translated as “snow shoveler.” The name fits: caribou find food in winter by smelling it under the snow and digging feeding holes, called craters, with their broad front hooves. You can read more about this habit in what do reindeer eat?

Wild caribou and herded reindeer: what is different?

Although they are one species, wild caribou and domestic reindeer are not identical. Reindeer have been herded in northern Eurasia for many centuries, and genetic studies suggest they were domesticated independently at least twice. Herded reindeer are still only partly domesticated. They roam free on pastures for much of the year and find their own food, but they are owned, earmarked and gathered by herders.

Generations of herding have changed them in some ways:

• Build: domestic reindeer tend to be shorter-legged and stockier than wild animals of similar origin.
• Color: they are more often white, pale or patchy, while wild caribou are usually brown with a pale neck and rump.
• Behavior: herded reindeer are calmer around people and can be trained to pull sleds, whereas wild caribou flee from humans.

In North America, reindeer were brought from Siberia to Alaska in the 1890s, and later from Norway, to start a herding economy for Alaska Natives. Some of these reindeer later escaped and joined wild caribou herds. Because they belong to the same species, the two can interbreed freely, and their calves are fertile.

Subspecies and ecotypes

Within the species, scientists describe several subspecies, though experts disagree on how many. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, for example, lists seven, while other authorities recognize more or fewer. Wildlife managers also use ecotypes, groups adapted to a particular way of life:

• Barren-ground (tundra) caribou live in huge migratory herds in Alaska and northern Canada.
• Woodland caribou live in smaller, mostly sedentary groups in the boreal forest of Canada.
• Mountain caribou live in the ranges of western Canada and Alaska.
• Peary caribou are small, pale animals of the Canadian high Arctic islands.
• Eurasian mountain and tundra reindeer live in Norway and across northern Russia, including the huge Taimyr herd in Siberia.
• Finnish forest reindeer live in the forests of Finland and western Russia.
• Svalbard reindeer are short-legged, stocky animals found only on the Svalbard islands.

A 2022 revision proposed dividing Rangifer into several separate species, such as a North American Arctic caribou. This idea is still debated, and the IUCN and most references continue to treat all reindeer and caribou as a single species.

Common myths about reindeer and caribou

“Caribou are bigger than reindeer.” This is partly true in practice. Large forest and mountain caribou in Canada are bigger than most herded reindeer in Scandinavia. But size varies within each group: tundra caribou of the Arctic coast are small, and Siberian forest reindeer can be large.

“Only reindeer have antlers on females.” Wild caribou cows grow antlers just as reindeer cows do, because they are the same species. It is the only deer in which this is normal. See do female reindeer have antlers?

“Reindeer are a kind of elk or moose.” They are separate members of the deer family. The moose, which Europeans call an elk, is much larger and has broad, palm-shaped antlers.

Which name should you use?

Both are correct. If you are writing or speaking about wild animals in Alaska or Canada, “caribou” is the usual word. For Europe, Asia or herded animals anywhere, “reindeer” is standard. Scientists often write “reindeer/caribou” or simply use the name Rangifer tarandus to avoid confusion.