Most caribou cows give birth to a single calf in the spring. While single calves are the rule, rare cases of twins have been seen (sort of like people).

The breeding and calving times of "the deer of the north" are highly synchronized - almost all of the calves are born within a ten day period in early June.

Newborns are able to stand and walk almost immediately. They can often run within 90 minutes of their birth, and within a few hours they can follow their mothers across the tundra, galloping along at up to 75 km / 45 miles per hour! (By comparison, it usually takes humans about 1 to 1½ years just to start walking!)

The calves must be able to move quickly to escape predators and keep up with the herd. They are born into a dangerous life - almost half of all newborns die within the first year either due to sickness, drowning or abandonment, or as the victims of wolves and bears.