A PROVISIONAL LIFE TABLE FOR THE BARREN GROUND CARIBOU

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Author: Banfield, A. W. F.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1955
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Canada; caribou
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z55-009; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z55-009

A provisional life table for the continental Barren Ground caribou, Rangifer arcticus arcticus (Richardson), has been prepared from a collection of 292 mandibles collected in 1948 and 1949 on the summer and winter ranges of the species in northern Canada. The data include both sexes. The age of the specimens was estimated by the eruption and wear of the teeth. The mean expected life span at birth was found to be 4.09 years. The average mortality rate for the first 10 years of life was 71%. The apparent potential natural longevity was about 13 years.