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Where do reindeer and caribou live?
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deer
Male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus).
Reindeer and caribou are the same species of deer (Rangifer tarandus); the term "caribou" is simply the name used for these animals in North America.12
They inhabit the Arctic tundra and adjacent boreal forests across several regions, including:
- Alaska and Canada
- Greenland
- Scandinavia
- Russia13
These animals are highly migratory, often moving between tundra and forest environments in large herds to find food and suitable breeding grounds. While wild populations exist across these northern latitudes, reindeer have also been domesticated in parts of Europe and Asia, where they play a vital role for traditional herding cultures.14