Meat
Wild Caribou
A tier
Wild caribou are free-ranging North American Rangifer hunted by Indigenous and licensed hunters—barren-ground and other ecotypes depending on region. Meat is leaner and often more intensely wild than domestic Scandinavian reindeer. Subsistence staples include roasts, dry meat, and stews. Flavour reflects lichen and tundra forage. Respect co-management rules and cultural harvest rights; commercial availability is limited compared with Nordic herded reindeer.
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
History
Indigenous peoples of the North American Arctic and subarctic depended on caribou migrations.
Fur-trade diets heavily featured wild caribou meat.
Co-management regimes regulated caribou harvest as herds fluctuated.
Food-security programmes supported traditional caribou harvest where populations allowed.