Born to run
Caribou can outperform any other land animal in their energy-efficiency.
Believe it or not, Steve Leonard did seriously think about actually trying to walk alongside Claudia and her mates in the snow – but it’s knackering. It is totally sapping - you just have to get into the rhythm and keep plodding on. It’s almost like continually falling forward, and as long as you keep picking the foot up and falling on to it, you’re going to keep going. Steve's just not built to travel this way - unlike the caribou, who are in a league of their own. In terms of energy usage, they can out-perform any other land animal that’s ever been studied. You get a lot of miles to the gallon with a Porcupine caribou. How do they do it? Well they distribute their weight evenly across those big feet so they don’t sink so far into the snow. Its obvious there’s absolutely no way I would be able to run with the caribou. And by the way, caribou do need to run. We’re not the only ones trying to follow them. These are special wolves - instead of having a territory in one place, these wolves have evolved to travel, to migrate with the herd, constantly on the look out for any opportunities to make a kill. It’s tough to take, but the wolves keep a health-check on the Porcupine herd, weeding out the weak or old animals. Escaping wolves can be another hold up – and they’re already so late starting. So where do Claudia and all the pregnant mums stand right now? Well, she’s making slow progress but seems to be heading towards the northernmost town up here. Old Crow.
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