Saving Caribou

This title explores the role of caribou in their habitats, how humans have threatened the animal's existence, and efforts being taken to protect them. Clear text, vibrant photos, and helpful infographics make this book an accessible and engaging read.

Caribou are also known as reindeer. Their snowy Arctic homes are in danger. This leveled text will introduce readers to challenges that these deer face as well as what is being done to save them. Vibrant photos bring both caribou and their homes to life on the page. Special features map the animal’s range, highlight how caribou help their ecosystem, and show some of the threats facing the deer.

For eons, female members of the Porcupine caribou herd have made the 2,800-mile journey from their winter feeding grounds to their summer calving grounds. They once roamed borderless wilderness; now they trek from Canada, where they're protected, to the United States, where they are not. What's more, beneath the calving grounds lay vast reserves of oil. Determined to convey both the enormity of the caribous' migration and the delicacy of their habitat, Karsten Heuer and his wife spent their honeymoon following the herd. For five months, they traveled an uncharted course on foot over mountains, through snow, and across frozen rivers, with only three semi-scheduled food drops for support. As with the caribou, Heuer and his wife faced dwindling fat reserves and stalking by ravenous grizzlies and wolves just awakened from hibernation. Both a rousing adventure story and a sober ecological meditation, Being Caribou vividly conveys this magnificent animal's world.

Widespread concern surrounds the future of caribou. Caribou and the North brings both the facts and the feelings of the current situation to a North American readership. The writers look at why we need to conserve the caribou, the threats that have faced caribou in the past, present, and future, and the actions that we can take.

Can we save endangered species? Yes, we can! The environment is constantly changing. People are building roads, houses, bridges, and cities. This development has damaged the natural habits of many native organisms. In this important book readers are introduced to a variety of these endangered species. Engaging text and stunning illustrations highlight the plight of these animals and plants and suggest ways to help restore their natural environments. From the beautiful cui-ui to the Puerto Rican parrot, readers will begin to understand how each living species contributes to our planet and how we can strive to save each of them.

The George River caribou herd increased from 15,000 animals in 1958 to 700,000 in 1988 - the largest herd in the world at the time. The authors trace the fluctuations in this caribou population back to the 1700s, detail how the herd escaped extinction in the 1950s, and consider current environmental threats to its survival. In an examination of the life history and population biology of the herd, The Return of Caribou to Ungava offers a synthesis of the basic biological traits of the caribou, a new hypothesis about why they migrate, and a comparison to herd populations in North America, Scandinavia, and Russia. The authors conclude that the old maxim, "Nobody knows the way of the caribou," is no longer valid. Based on a study in which the caribou were tracked by satellite across Ungava, they find that caribou are able to navigate, even in unfamiliar habitats, and to return to their calving ground, movement that is central to the caribou's cyclical migration. The Return of Caribou to Ungava also examines whether the herd can adapt to global warming and other changing environmental realities.

Clear, provocative, and persuasive, Ever Green is an inspiring call to action to conserve Earth’s irreplaceable wild woods, counteract climate change, and save the planet. Five stunningly large forests remain on Earth: the Taiga, extending from the Pacific Ocean across all of Russia and far-northern Europe; the North American boreal, ranging from Alaska’s Bering seacoast to Canada’s Atlantic shore; the Amazon, covering almost the entirety of South America’s bulge; the Congo, occupying parts of six nations in Africa’s wet equatorial middle; and the island forest of New Guinea, twice the size of California. These megaforests are vital to preserving global biodiversity, thousands of cultures, and a stable climate, as economist John W. Reid and celebrated biologist Thomas E. Lovejoy argue convincingly in Ever Green. Megaforests serve an essential role in decarbonizing the atmosphere—the boreal alone holds 1.8 trillion metric tons of carbon in its deep soils and peat layers, 190 years’ worth of global emissions at 2019 levels—and saving them is the most immediate and affordable large-scale solution to our planet’s most formidable ongoing crisis. Reid and Lovejoy offer practical solutions to address the biggest challenges these forests face, from vastly expanding protected areas, to supporting Indigenous forest stewards, to planning smarter road networks. In gorgeous prose that evokes the majesty of these ancient forests along with the people and animals who inhabit them, Reid and Lovejoy take us on an exhilarating global journey.

In the latest title of this series about Arctic animals, kids learn how Caribou raise their babies, where they live, what they eat, and other interesting information. Full color.