By the time the rutting season arrived in mid-October, there were
comparatively few Caribou left in the Windy River area. Consequently my
information on the subject was derived mainly from Charles Schweder and
Fred Schweder, Jr. Weeks before the scheduled season, there were certain
manifestations of the sexual urge. For example, on September 5 about 20
Caribou were passing the Bear Slough. The band consisted mostly of does
and fawns, but included several middle-aged bucks (with antlers much
less than the maximum size) and possibly some younger bucks. Twice I saw
one of the animals attempt to cover another, but driving rain and the
compactness of the band prevented me from determining the sex or age of
those involved. During a trip to the Kazan River, lasting from September
17 to October 1, Fred observed a good deal of fighting among the
Caribou--obviously a prelude to the mating season. In Charles’ opinion,
these early contests are not very much in earnest; the real fighting
begins about October 15. On October 8 Charles and Fred referred to
fighting that was going on among a herd of about 100 between Glacier
Pond and Lake Charles. Perhaps less than a quarter of this herd were
older bucks; the rest, younger bucks, does, and fawns.
In former years, while living at the “Old Post” on Red River, Charles
used to go out and watch the fighting on a big open muskeg, about a mile
square, where the Caribou would congregate practically every year at the
rutting season, up to a thousand strong. They would stay for three or
four days, then disappear. Nothing on the same scale had come to his
notice in the vicinity of the Windy River post. At this season, when the
animals are in large herds, the bucks utter their calls, as mentioned in
the section on _Voice_. According to Fred, one sees in October a good
many bucks with an antler broken off in the fighting. The break
generally occurs at about the middle of the antler. On September 29
Charles reported a buck with a broken antler, which he interpreted as
evidence of the beginning of the fighting season. During the rutting
season he once shot a buck with a broken jaw, and another with an eye
gone. The possible inference was that these injuries had been sustained
in fighting. A buck secured on October 16 had apparently been wounded in
fighting; there was pus in its neck, and it was considered unfit for
eating. I heard nothing as to the possible use of hoofs in contests
between bucks, as reported by Jacobi (1931: 233) for the Reindeer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
The Barren Ground Caribou of Keewatin — John Shaqi
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