If you’ve been hiking or camping in North America, there’s a good chance you’ve seen an animal that looks like what most people call “moose” but is actually a wapiti. Maybe you didn’t know it was called a wapiti because the signs at your favorite national park only say “moose” and not “wapiti.” Or maybe you didn’t realize there was another type of animal with the same name as moose (curious, right?). Whatever the case may be, don’t worry because we’re here to explain all about these two animals: what’s the difference between them?

Caribou vs Wapiti – The Differences

There are several differences between the caribou and wapiti.

• The first is size. Wapitis are much larger than caribous, with males weighing up to 1,000 pounds (453 kilograms). Caribous can weigh up to 700 pounds (317 kilograms), but they’re still smaller than their cousins.
• The second difference is diet: Wapitis are herbivores, while caribous eat mostly plants and insects along with berries and lichen in winter months when they hibernate together in large groups called herds or “caravans.” They also sometimes eat small mammals like squirrels, mice or rabbits if they find them during their travels through forests or fields that aren’t covered by snow year-round like those found in Canada’s far north regions where temperatures stay below freezing more often than not throughout most parts of every year including summer months when most animals would rather stay indoors instead of going outside into hot sun which could burn them badly if exposed long enough without proper protection such as sunscreen lotion applied evenly across exposed skin surface area before heading outdoors so as not get sunburned while out there enjoying nature’s beauty firsthand!

Poop

Caribou poop is more smelly than wapiti poop. The reason for this is not clear, but it may be due to the diet of caribou and their ability to digest it better. Caribou eat grasses and sedges (grasses with leaves) while wapiti eat forbs (broad-leaved herbs).

Wapiti have a less compact stool than caribou, so it’s easier to see when they’ve been around! Their droppings are also darker than those of their smaller cousins, and have a different texture as well–they tend to be more granular in nature rather than pellet-like like many other ungulates’ scat.

Genetics

Both Caribou and Wapiti are members of the deer family. They are ruminants, which means they have four stomachs and regurgitate food to chew it again. They also both have antlers, although these can be much larger in caribou than in elk (or wapiti). Finally, both species have 24 pairs of chromosomes–the same number as humans!

Behavior

Caribou and elk are both social animals. They live in groups and migrate together from place to place. Caribou are also herbivores, meaning that they only eat plants for food. Wapiti are similar in this respect because they are also herbivores–but what does this mean exactly?

The word “herbivore” comes from two Latin words: “herba” which means “grass”; and “vora,” which means “to devour.” Herbivorous animals eat only plants; they cannot digest meat or other animal products like dairy products (like cows). So while both caribou and elk are herbivores, their diets differ somewhat due to where they live: caribou eat mainly lichen during winter months while wapiti prefer grasses when spring arrives; however during summer months both species will eat branch tips off birch trees rather than leaves because those branches contain more protein than plain old leaves do!

Wapitis are larger than caribou and have a different diet, but the two animals have many similarities.

The wapiti, or elk, is the largest member of the deer family. It is also known for its impressive antlers. Elks can be found throughout North America and Europe; they have been introduced to other parts of the world as well.

The caribou are also called reindeer by some people because they live in colder climates like Greenland and Siberia where there aren’t many trees for food so they eat lichen instead! Caribou have antlers too but not as big as elks do–the females don’t even grow any at all!

With their large ears, fluffy tails and short legs, caribou and wapitis are both very cute animals. But as we’ve seen above there are many differences between these two species of deer. The main one being that caribou live in cold climates while wapitis prefer warmer weather (although they can survive in cooler temperatures too). Another difference is that wapitis have larger bodies than caribou (especially males), which means they have more muscle power than their smaller counterparts when fighting over mates or defending territory from predators; this also makes them better at escaping predators themselves!