Being Caribou: Five Months on Foot with a Caribou Herd

by Karsten Heuer

In one of the earth's most amazing migrations, more than 100,000 caribou trek thousands of miles each year over high mountain ranges, through snowy passes, and across icy rivers. But they have to battle more than just the brutal elements. Hungry wolves, huge grizzly bears, human hunters, and hordes of bloodthirsty insects besiege the herd as it travels to its one safe haven--Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. There, those that survive the trip have a few peaceful weeks to give birth and prepare their calves for the harsh year ahead.


Karsten Heuer and his wife, Leanne Allison, are the only humans ever to become part of a caribou herd and join it on its arduous journey. They shared the same mind-numbing cold, the endless miles of physical hardship, and all the dangers along the route to chronicle the epic battle for survival these animals face. To keep up, they had to move, act, and even think like caribou.  Karsten and Leanne's incredible adventure gives us a window into a world that we have never seen before.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Travel, Science

48 pages, Hardcover

Published May 1, 2007

About the author

Karsten Heuer is a wildlife biologist, park warden and author of Walking the Big Wild: From Yellowstone to the Yukon on the Grizzly Bear's Trail. He has worked in Banff National Park in the Rockies, in Inuvik in Canada's far north, and in the Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa. He is a recipient of the Wilburforce Foundation Conservation Leadership Award.

Reviews

[Dominique Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three weeks canoeing down the Wind and then the Peel River - the pair of us got out at Fort Mcpherson and the first human we'd seen in twenty-one days turned round from her duties on the car ferry and demanded of us - "Have you seen any caribou?" Thinking she was just being nice to the tourists and showing interest in our trip, I cheerfully announced we'd seen wolf, bear and moose. She looked severely at me. "We're not interested in bear and wolf," she said. "Have you seen any caribou?"
"One or two," I reported. She turned her back on me. And then I remembered - they'd be waiting for the Porcupine Caribou Herd to come through to get their winter food supplies. My answer 'one or two' meant we'd only seen the solitary woodland caribou. If we'd seen hundreds - then we'd have been bringing extremely welcome news.
The Porcupine Caribou Herd is endangered. They are a Canadian herd that go into Alaska to calve, before returning. Unfortunately, the oil industry wants to develop into the Porcupine Herd breeding grounds. For thousands of years, the First Nation people in the Three Rivers Watershed (Wind, Snake and Bonnet Plume) in the Yukon, have relied on the passage of that herd to feed them through the arctic winter. As we left the town the next day, they asked us to write to the Canadian Government to tell them how precious the Wind River watershed is and ask them to halt plans to allow mining of the tar sands there, and to write to President Obama to beg him to stop the Oil Companies having access to the Caribou breeding grounds. We did so. And so did the couple who wrote this book. They followed the Porcupine Caribou Herd across their migration, on ski and on foot, siting a tent in the middle of all the calving females. As they arrive at the White House to meet with the President, they can't help looking on the lawn for hoof-prints, so long have they been tracking the herd. It's a delightful read - interesting and moving.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a good bit of confusion after which book was which (I was apparently not paying close enough attention to the pages listed between titles and such here and at my library), I ended up getting this book from the library. This is the "kid's" version -- a much shorter, simplified, photographic journey. For the full thing, read the longer version (same title) -- the one that's more than 200 pages.

But, since I had this, I read it through to see how it compared! Obviously very pared down but still very true to the adventure that Karsten and his wife had, and I was happy to check out all of their photos as well!

[Lizzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really disappointing. In my library copy, the photos were fine but grainy. The text was surprisingly boring! After all they went through, it felt like reading a badly written Wikipedia summary. There was no feeling of excitement or danger. It was also very centered on their experiences. Would’ve loved way more caribou facts! What’s the deal with the clicking tendons? What’s the deal with their cool eyes? All I “ learned”is they migrate, mostly to avoid bugs, and can travel well. If I were a kid, I would get very bored reading about the people. I’m sure with better editing and in a more fleshed-out format, this would be a better read

[Sima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Karsten Heuer is from the area so I've seen him speak many times. He's such a gifted storyteller that I'm surprised that I haven't picked up this before. I've been to the Yukon on many occasions, but only to Whitehorse. One of the people he mentions in the book, I've actually met when I gave a presentation at the Yukon College.
I loved all his descriptions of the wildlife, land and his relationship with his wife on the expedition. Traveling the way they did forever changes people. I'm sad though that over a decade later activists are still fighting to protect the porcupine caribou calving grounds. Yukon photographer, Peter Mather, recently helped promote a campaign in Alaska.
His comments about applying for grants and permits are often left out of the annals of adventure traveling, but I always find that portion just as interesting as the journey itself.

[Abby Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Karsten Heuer and his wife followed a migrating herd of caribou for five months in order to record their story and persuade people not to destroy their calving ground to dig for oil. They had to survive on their own, trekking after the caribou on foot, as the caribou made their way to the calving ground, had babies, and moved onward. The photos are amazing and it's an important story to tell, but I found the book overall to be rather slight. It appears that there might be a version of this book for adult readers and I'd be interested to see what the differences are.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t normally write reviews but this book struck me. I was hooked the minute I started reading. The writing is beautiful and truly makes you resonate with the journey the author took with the porcupine caribou herd. I am in the wildlife biology field and hope someday I can create strong writing to advocate for wildlife the way Karsten Heuer did with this book. Even if you are not in the science field, this book clearly and poetically tells the story of why we need to protect our wild places. I highly recommend reading this.

[Phoebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine spending your honeymoon following a caribou herd for 5 months, eating when they eat, sleeping when they sleep, holing up for days in your very small tent at the calving grounds while the skittish caribou give birth. Canadian park ranger Heuer and his new wife Leanne have just such an adventure, and their saga is documented with beautiful photographs and well-written text in this extraordinary children's book. 4th grade and up.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a husband and wife biologists who track the migration of caribou in order to show how important protecting their land is. Non-fiction Captivating pictures of the caribou and the other animals who are their predators. Grades 3 through 8.

[Mouse Denehy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book is a bit wordy for a kids book but the pictures a breathtaking. This book is a great was to learn about the migratory patterns of herding animals and about how human can have an affect on animals.

[Russ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great account of an incredibly epic undertaking. To think of all the courage that it took to begin and follow through with an expedition like this. I’m envious, way to live out a dream and make an impact for the caribou.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous photo illustrations.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read that will teach you a little about caribou migration. It has lots of pretty photographs

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good immersion into wildness from the comfort of my couch. And a good story to illustrate why not to drill for oil in every corner of the Earth.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good NF companion to Never Say Day by Will Hobbs.

[Julie Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing expedition to follow & understand the Porcupine herd caribou migration. Heur does a beautiful job weaving together an awe inspiring personal story with insightful science & natural history.

[Melinda Brasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting. Amazing people. Good pictures.

I would have liked a little more detail, a little more about the survival aspects and about the animals, but it was still very interesting.

[Zack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I accidentally bought this book a while ago. This one is the "kid's" book version of his longer book. I meant to buy the longer one, but both books have the same title. Author and spouse spent five months following the Porcupine Herd of caribou to their calving grounds in the 1002 section of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This section is the one that may or may not allow oil extraction. For being so short, it does pack an emotional punch. Really makes me want to pick up the longer version. I put "kid's" in quotes as I think this one is still a little much for my four and two year old nephews.

[Susie Sherburne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Caribou birthing grounds are in danger of being developed, so a couple follow the herd for 5 months from the mountains to the birthing grounds and back to their mountain habitat. The coastal birthing grounds are only used for a short time as the mosquitos are so large they can suck up to a cup of blood per day from the Caribou and the Bot flies burrow in their noses. So when the warm weather comes they literally run for the mountains with their newborns to the cool/windy weather. A very short book - less than an hour, but interesting.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about Caribou and what will be lost when drilling is allowed in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. There was just enough detail about each aspect of the trip (logistics, relationship, the actual skiing/hiking, and the caribou themselves) for the purpose of the book. This is a book about the journey, the wilderness, and the Caribou, and how these changed the authors.

[Melanie Macham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this gem at a thrift store and so glad I picked it up! Such an incredible story about a newly wed couple who spend 5 months following the Porcupine Caribou herd in the migration to the calving grounds and back to their fall feeding grounds. It really captures the raw beauty of the tundra and the wildlife that inhabit it!

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures. The story was about how the two hikers survived and what they saw.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful.

[Ann Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy smokes. What a feat of endurance. One of those books where I was glad I could tell that the author made it out alive since he'd written the book himself. I would have loved more pictures.

[Carrie Ives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simplified writing style, but it was a very interesting read. The pictures were interesting too.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would have been much better with more detail and discussion. It is great for a younger reader, but is sparse and a bit too superficial for older readers. The pictures are great though.

[Joleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very impressive. Living lives that match their convictions.

[Gary]

The joke was on me! After seeing this title on a "Recommended Reading" list, I mail-ordered it, only to wind up with the children's book, rather than the adult version. Forty-eight pages of nice photos with a text that didn't say much more than, "Caribou are impressive creatures. It was challenging to follow them." Whether this stands up well as a children's book, I don't feel qualified to judge.

One thing the book did prompt me to do was to watch the "Being Caribou" documentary produced by the National Film Board of Canada (available on the NFB Web site to watch for free). I enjoyed that.

I imagine there's even more in the adult version of the book which I'll have to read someday.