Chance Encounter Leads U of G Researchers to Discovery About Fogo Island Caribou

by the University of Guelph
December 9, 2025

It was a fleeting glimpse but what caught Allegra Love’s eye gave her pause. Could it be?

Part of a research team measuring the health of a woodland caribou herd on Fogo Island in Newfoundland, the University of Guelph PhD student peered through binoculars and spotted something peculiar in the trees – a pregnant caribou donning velvety antlers in the early spring.

“At first, I second guessed myself,” she says.

Caribou, sometimes referred to as reindeer, are the only species of deer (including white-tailed deer, elk and moose) whose females grow antlers; their growth patterns have been tied to reproduction. Growth typically occurs in the summer but, this was May of 2024, and Love had an inkling that something unique was afoot.

“We’ve been tracking this population on Fogo Island since 2016,” she explains. “We’ve never seen female caribou growing antlers on this timeframe.”

Keep reading: https://news.uoguelph.ca/2025/12/chance-encounter-leads-u-of-g-researchers-to-new-discovery-about-fogo-island-caribou/

Read the Ecosphere paper: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.70484