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The Porcupine caribou or Grant's Caribou (Rangifer tarandus grantii) herd is located in the northern Yukon and Alaska. Their name does not derive from the animal porcupine, but from the Porcupine River which runs through a large part of their range. Though numbers fluctuate, the herd is comprised of over ~125,000 animals which migrate over 1,500 miles (900 km) a year between their winter range and calving grounds. They are the primary sustenance of the Gwichʼin, a First Nations/Alaska Native people, who traditionally built their communities based upon the caribou's migration patterns. They are also routinely hunted by other peoples, including the Inupiat, Inuvialuit, Hän, and Northern Tutchone. There is currently debate on whether possible future oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses much of its historical calving grounds, will have a severe negative impact on the caribou population. For more information on this topic, see Arctic Refuge drilling controversy.
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