Thread by @FinisDunaway

I don’t know who needs to see this today, but I’ve put together a collection of caribou photographs—all of the Porcupine herd that migrates every year to the Arctic Refuge to have their young.
Let’s begin with this aerial view of the Niguanak River. Photo: Fran Mauer, 1986. (1)

Mauer estimates that there were 60,000 (!) caribou below him when he took that picture.

Here’s another aerial view—this one taken by Subhankar Banerjee in 2002. It shows pregnant caribou crossing the frozen Coleen River, and it's one of my favorite photos of all time. (2)

Wilbur Mills, one of the first photographers to visit what was then called the Arctic National Wildlife Range, took this photo in 1974. It shows two clusters of bulls, walking with apparent purpose, as they cross the frozen Kongakut River. (3)

The next images take us on the ground, offering closer views of the caribou. Malkolm Boothroyd’s photo shows a bull caribou in fog on the Arctic coastal plain. (4)

The fog and light purple color lend an aura of mystery to this photo by Banerjee—of cows and calves on the coastal plain. (5)

And this gorgeous late summer photograph by Keri Oberly offers a mid-range perspective on the caribou as they migrate toward their wintering grounds in Canada. (6)

Peter Mather’s recent migration photos offer close-up views of the animals as they journey back and forth across the US-Canada border. Mather took this photo in Alaska.(7)

And in this one, Mather photographed the caribou just north of Old Crow, Yukon. (8)

I hope you enjoyed these photos! The Porcupine herd currently numbers over 200,000--and takes the longest land migration of any animal.

BUT the herd is under threat, as the Trump administration plans to lease the Arctic Refuge—the caribou calving grounds--for oil drilling. (9)

The Refuge is considered sacred to the Gwich’in Nation and is a biological nursery of transnational and global significance. For more, check out: @OurArcticRefuge, @ACaribouPeople, @NorthernCenter, @CPAWSYukon, @alaskawild, & more! #ProtectTheArctic #StandWithTheGwichin (end)