Symbolizes: Lifeforce
This video features the threatened Woodland Caribou, not the Southern Mountain Caribou, which is a distinct and critically endangered subgroup. Elusive by nature and increasingly rare, authentic footage of Southern Mountain Caribou is incredibly difficult to capture.
Sometimes called “America’s Gray Ghosts,” these caribou haunt the ancient forests of British Columbia and the inland temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, the only ecosystems of their kind on Earth. These forests are home to trees that have stood for over 1,000 years, and thanks to the caribou’s protected status, their presence keeps logging companies at bay, shielding these ancient giants from destruction.
In winter, they survive almost entirely on arboreal lichens, nutrients found in the treetops, reached by navigating deep snow with their wide, snowshoe-like hooves. This unique adaptation helps them float above the snowpack and access life-giving food where other species cannot.
Southern Mountain Caribou are the southernmost caribou population in the world. Once ranging into northern Idaho and Washington State, they are now reduced to isolated pockets, with only about 1,200 individuals remaining. They are survivors of the Pleistocene Ice Age, but face modern threats that their ancient ancestors never encountered: logging, road construction, habitat fragmentation, predator imbalances, and even winter recreation, all of which disrupt their fragile way of life.
Their hollow, insulating fur shields them from harsh mountain winters, but it cannot protect them from the accelerating pressures of human activity.
Let your purchase help protect an ancient lifeline.
Every candle supports urgent conservation efforts working to preserve the last of the Southern Mountain Caribou and the irreplaceable forests they call home.
To learn more, watch “Last Stand”, a powerful film on the fight to save the rainforest caribou.
Illuminate your space and help keep the lifeforce of the wild alive.