Caribou in Alaska
hunting regulations.
Hunting regulations change. The information on this page reflects what we know about species presence and hunt availability based on state agency listings. For current season dates, bag limits, weapon restrictions, tag requirements, and reporting obligations, verify directly with Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You are responsible for confirming current regulations before hunting.
Caribou is general season in Alaska. The agency above sets season dates, bag limits, and zone boundaries — those change yearly. Verify before you hunt.
About the species
Caribou are the only deer species in which females carry antlers. North American caribou populations divide into barren-ground herds (the massive migratory herds of the Arctic), Mountain caribou (Western Canadian and Alaskan ranges), and woodland caribou (boreal forest zone, threatened or endangered across most of their southern range). Mature bulls weigh 350-450 pounds and live nomadic lives following lichen forage and avoiding wolf predation.
Hunting opportunities exist primarily in Alaska and Canada — caribou season was closed in the contiguous US after the woodland herd disappeared from the Selkirk Mountains. Alaska runs general-season caribou tags in several units, and the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon, and Quebec offer guided and self-guided trips. The Western Arctic Herd migration is one of the great wildlife spectacles still witnessable on this continent.
Other big game in Alaska
Want the picture for this species across every state? See Caribou regulations by state. Or browse every huntable species in Alaska.