The Big Bog's Caribou Band

The Big Bog's Caribou Band. . The Big Bog was the last refuge for the lower 48 states' woodland caribou, which vanished in the 1940s. Although caribou survived in Minnesota for a century after they disappeared in Wisconsin and Michigan, multiple threats took their toll here. Many were killed for food by loggers, trappers, and homesteaders. Peatland drainage projects, farming, and fires damaged habitat. Settlement also created conditions that drew white tailed deer and their deadly parasites to northern Minnesota., Late 1920s , The Big Bog Caribou band is considered the last resident herd in the U.S. In 1928, it dwindles to 13, raising fear of extinction., 1931 , Fire consumes 1,600 square miles of the Big Bog., 1932 , Minnesota established the 480,000-acre Red Lake Wildlife Refuge to preserve caribou and other big game., 1935 , Beltrami Island Resettlement Project begins, aiding caribou by relocating settlers, reducing poaching, and blocking drainage ditches., 1938 , Ten caribou from Saskatchewan travel to a corral on Ludlow Island. The largest bull travels (by Caterpillar tractor) to a fenced area south of Hillman Lake. He joins the last three cows of the original band., 1939 , The remaining captive caribou move to the Hillman Lake enclosure., 1940 , Four cows give birth. The last original cow dies, probably from old age. The Bell Museum of Natural History acquires her remains., 1942 , Food shortage prompts the release of all 15–20 caribou from the Hillman Lake enclosure., 1946–50 , Aerial searches reveal no sign of caribou in their Big Bog range or the Hillman Lake area., 1950–present , Unverified reports mention tracks and fleeting glimpses of caribou in Minnesota, mostly near the Canadian border., Captions: , Caribou trails trod more than 80 years ago still crisscross the Big Bog., Caribou Brought From Canada, 1938, Jack Manweiler Tends Big Bog Caribou, 1939 , Manweiler led the intense effort to save the vanishing caribou., Reindeer Moss Fed to Caribou, 1939 , This photo was probably taken on Ludlow Island., And That's a Lot of Moss! , Caribou Facts , The Micmac Indian word for caribou is xalibu, meaning "one that shovels." Caribou use their hooves to shovel food from beneath the snow, creating feeding places called craters., Both male and female caribou grow antlers. Bulls shed them after the fall rut. Cows keep theirs until spring. They're a boon to survival for the cow, her unborn calf, and her previous year's calf, she uses them against males to defend food craters., In places where a person sinks knee-deep in the bog, caribou footprints are only a few inches deep. Large, bowl-shaped hooves distribute the weight., Woodland caribou live in Canada, Alaska, and other parts of the far north.