The Peary caribou is a light-coloured Arctic subspecies of caribou. It is the smallest of the caribou/reindeer subspecies, reaching a shoulder height of only about 90 cm (3 ft.). A large bull will weigh about 110 kg (240 lb.). A cow weighs approximately 10 to 20% less.

Peary caribou live on the Canadian Arctic islands. The thick coat of hollow hairs provides good insulation from the Arctic climate. Unlike their southern relatives, Peary caribou don't have access to lichens during the winter. Instead, they paw through the snow for dried grasses, sedges and Arctic willow.

They are gregarious, like the southern species, but travel in much smaller herds of 5 to 20 animals. Though Peary caribou regularly migrate between summer and winter ranges and may travel between islands over the winter ice, they do not make the spectacular migrations for which the larger and darker barren-ground caribou are well-known.