English: Caribou, North America’s wild reindeer, have lives apart from their famous role on Christmas Eve. Reindeer, of course, is another common name for caribou (Rangifer tarandus) a large, cold-adapted, herding herbivore related to deer, elk and moose.

If reindeer had red, glowing noses, they’d probably be a lot easier to study in the wild. To learn more about the biology behind these arctic antler-bearers, we only have to turn to our colleagues at the USGS Alaska Science Center, (alaska.usgs.gov) who conduct a wide variety of earth science and ecological science surveys throughout our northernmost state.

We asked USGS caribou (and large mammal) expert Layne Adams, Ph.D., about the lives of caribou for those other 364 days of the year. Adams has studied caribou in Alaska for more than 30 years, helping land managers understand the best way to manage this important species. Adams, a wildlife biologist at the Alaska Science Center, sat down last year and did an online chat with the Washington Post a few years ago.

Here are other Qs and As about reindeer that Dr. Adams answered:

Why are reindeer sometimes called caribou and caribou sometimes called reindeer?

“Reindeer” and “caribou” are two common names for the same species (Rangifer tarandus), which occurs throughout the circumpolar North.

“Reindeer” is the common name for Rangifer in Europe and Asia, whereas “caribou” is the North American name.

The name “caribou” is a French derivative of a Native American word that means snow shoveler, which is a reference to the fact that caribou are often pawing through the snow to find food underneath.

Read more here: www.usgs.gov/blogs/features/usgs_top_story/the-other-364-... (Photo by David Gustine, USGS)