Big Game Profiles

Big Game Profiles ® - Barren Ground Caribou

There are five sub-species of caribou in North America—mountain, woodland, barren ground, Central Canada barren ground, and Quebec-Labrador caribou. They range from Alaska and western Canada, and then across eastern Canada including Quebec, Labrador, and Newfoundland. In recent years their populations have experienced a sharp decline due in large part to exploding herd populations resulting in over-grazing of their habitats. Today, herds are beginning to show signs of recovery.

Big Game Profiles ® - Alaska Brown Bear

The Alaska brown bear is an extremely large grizzly sub-species—these animals rival polar bears as the largest bears on earth—that ranges throughout coastal Alaska. The brown bear’s immense size is fueled by Alaska’s summer and fall salmon runs.

Big Game Profiles ® - American Bison

Although there are domesticated, private herds in many states, only pure strain, wild bison are recognized by the Boone and Crockett Club’s records program. States and provinces that currently have wild bison are Alaska, Arizona, Montana, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming, Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and Yukon Territories. A mature bison bull can weigh well over a ton, and cow bison commonly weigh 1,200 pounds. Bison can sprint to a rather amazing 38 miles per hour and have the ability to leap barriers six feet tall.

Big Game Profiles ® - Bighorn Sheep

The four wild sheep categories recognized by B&C offer some of the most fascinating variety of life styles and living conditions of any species of North American big game. There are two types of sheep, bighorn, which include bighorn and desert bighorn, and thinhorn, which include Dall’s and Stone’s sheep. Growth rings on a sheep’s horns help tell its age, just like tree rings. Horns grow throughout an animal’s lifetime, and, unlike antlers, are never shed.

Big Game Profiles ® - Alaska Yukon Moose

There are three sub-species of North American moose—Alaska-Yukon, Canada, and Shiras’. Fewer measurements are taken for moose than for the other antlered categories. Despite this, moose can be one of the most complex trophies to measure. The largest in both body and antler size is the Alaska-Yukon moose found in Alaska, Northwest Territories and the Yukon. A prime Alaska-Yukon bull can weigh up to 1,600 pounds, stand over 7 feet tall at the shoulder, and grow antlers exceeding 6 feet wide and weighing up to 90 pounds.