Caribou

Portions of two major Mountain Caribou herds can be found in our area. The Redstone herd roams in the southeastern corner of the area near Bonnet Plume Lake, our moose basecamp. The Bonnet Plume herd can be found throughout the northern portion of our area starting near our Goz Lake sheep base camp. Both caribou herds have been studied by biologists and are known to spend some time in the Northwest Territories as well. The overall population of caribou in our outfitting area is in the thousands, although this number can fluctuate with seasonal movements.

The Boone and Crocket Club has mistakenly categorized all the caribou in our area as Barren Ground. In reality, they are Mountain caribou belonging to the same herds that are found just to the east in the Northwest Territories. Their antler structure, body size, seasonal movements and DNA provide concrete evidence that they are Mountain caribou.

During August, caribou bulls form small bachelor groups at high elevation in the mountains to escape the flies. Some of our largest bulls are harvested at this time, mainly while sheep hunting. They feed on alpine grasses, plants, and lichen. Always on the move, their patterns can be difficult to predict.

In September, the bulls move lower and mix with cows & calves. Caribou antlers are normally clean of velvet by late August and bulls begin to develop their beautiful white mane. The rut begins in early September. On average each caribou herd in September will contain about a dozen cows and three or four bulls. Occasionally rutting herds of seventy five or more caribou are seen.

The majority of caribou harvested by our hunters will score between 370” to 420” B&C. Each season several trophies score well enough to make the record book. Some of our past hunters have won awards for harvesting the # 1, # 2, and # 3 caribou in the Yukon.

We offer caribou hunting in combination with dall sheep in August and moose in September, or as a standalone hunt. Caribou are very curious animals, which can lead many to believe they are not overly intelligent. They are unpredictable and this often leads to interesting stalks that cam go in any direction. Whether in velvet or hard antler, a large trophy bull caribou is truly a magnificent animal!

Caribou are added primarily onto sheep or moose hunts as an additional animal, but if booked as a standalone hunt, backpacking or horseback hunting is our preferred choice. One guide and one client can backpack a caribou a fair distance, although they must be prepared for heavy packs in so doing. Horseback hunting for them alleviates this somewhat, although if a bull is harvested up on a mountainside, expect to backpack it down to the horses regardless.