Typical coloration is brown, shaggy fur with a whitish neck and mane.
The muzzle is large and blunt with short and broad ears and a short tail. Large, crescent shaped hooves which have sharp edges ensure good footing. The antlers of adult males are massive compared to those of the female and are erect and spreading with flattened brow tines that point forward and downward over the forehead. The caribou inhabits the arctic tundra, alpine tundra and northern boreal forests of North America, Russia, Norway, Sweden and Finland. In the European countries, caribou are called reindeer.