tęnatł’ǝa

tay-nat-wuh

The tęnatł’ǝa is an unknown species or subspecies of reindeer native to the boreal forests in and around Sahtu lands of central Northwest Territories. There are three known subspecies of reindeer in Sahtu Lands, the barren ground, mountain woodland and boreal woodland reindeer. Although, a fourth species has been reported, the tęnatł’ǝa or "fast runner" in Slavey. Leon Andrew, a Dené man who works for the Sahtu renewal resource board is the first person to report the tęnatł’ǝa outside of the remote villages in central Northwest Territories. According to witnesses and Dené elders of the húhtagot'ı̨nę Band say that the tęnatł’ǝa have more pointed ears, are slightly smaller and lives around the flat taiga between the west coast of Great Bear Lake and the Mackenzie River. The tęnatł’ǝa is also said to migrate much longer distances then normal caribou, and is associated with the Arctic Ocean.