Woodland Caribou, of the boreal forest, are larger and darker than their relatives the Barren-ground Caribou of the tundra. They generally live in smaller herds and are less migratory. Both sexes grow antlers, which are larger in males. In winter they eat mainly ground lichens, and in the snow-free months herbaceous plants and leafy shrubs.

The range of Woodland Caribou in northern Ontario has receded dramatically over the past century with the encroachment of human development, and habitat disturbance and alteration. Caribou require quite large areas of mature, coniferous forest. Changes in habitat composition that increase populations of moose and deer also negatively affect caribou by increasing the number of potential predators within their range.

The Woodland Caribou is listed under Ontario's Endangered Species Act, 2007, which protects the species from being killed, harmed, possessed, harassed, collected or sold. Woodland Caribou is classed as a game animal in Ontario, although the season has been closed to non-native hunting since 1929.