The Queen Charlotte Islands caribou or Dawson's caribou (''Rangifer arcticus dawsoni'') is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all specie ...

of the Arctic caribou (''R. arcticus'') that once lived on

Graham Island Graham Island () is the largest island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago (previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), lying off the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from the other p ...

, the largest of the islands of

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Heca ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. Possible causes of its extinction include

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, introduced disease and

overhunting Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term ap ...

. It was grey in appearance. The last three caribou were killed in 1908 and can be seen at the

Royal British Columbia Museum Founded in 1886, the Royal British Columbia Museum (sometimes referred to as Royal BC Museum) consists of The Province of British Columbia's natural and human history museum as well as the British Columbia Provincial Archives. The museum is loca ...

, where their pelts and bones are preserved and displayed. Recent analysis of

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...

suggests that the Queen Charlotte Islands caribou was not genetically distinct from the subspecies from the Canadian mainland.Byun, S.A.; B.F. Koop, and T.E. Reimchen. (2002). Evolution of the Dawson caribou (''Rangifer tarandus dawsoni''). ''Can. J. Zool.'' 80(5): 956–960. . NRC Canada
online
/ref>

References

External links

Mammal Fact Sheets:Caribou
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3022131 Mammals of Canada Reindeer Mammal extinctions since 1500 Extinct animals of Canada Haida Gwaii Subspecies