centers around the caribou. Not only does the animal constitute the source of food for the natives and their dogs, but also it supplies the material for their clothing, shelters, and boats as well as netting for their snowshoes and babiche and sinew for their snares, cords, and lashings. The caribou hunt occurred in the early summer and mid-summer. Caribou hunting during the fall migration involved the use of fence, corral, and snare complexes and was a seasonal activity critical to the survival of the Tanana people. Today, most caribou meat is typically used fresh, or is frozen for later use. The moose (subspecies Alces alces gigas, Lower Tanana , Tanacross , Upper Tanana ) was other most important food animal for Tanana Athabaskans. Moose hunting is the most common resource harvesting activity among Lower Tanana Athabaskan bands. Moose hunting is always a popular activity in modern Athabaskan communities because of the meat's economic value and a food preference for large game. Moose hunting in the fall was either an individual pursuit or group activity. Moose meat was eaten fresh or preserved. The Mansfeld-Kechumstuk band of Tanacross employed several methods to hunt Dall sheep (in Alaskan English simply sheep, Lower Tanana , Tanacross , Upper Tanana ) in late summer and early fall in local mountainous areas or as far south as the Mentasta Mountains. Dall sheep were a desired source of food and material for clothing and tools. Migratory waterfowl (ducks, geese, and swans) and upland game birds (ptarmigans and grouse) were a valued source of fresh meat. Grouse (spruce grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, ruffed grouse Lower Tanana , Tanacross , Upper Tanana ) and ptarmigan (willow ptarmigan and rock ptarmigan Lower Tanana , Tanacross , Upper Tanana ) were taken opportunistically throughout the year with bow and arrows or with snares and fence-snare arrangements. Ducks and geese were easily captured when molting. Men in birchbark canoes quietly approached waterfowl in bays and coves and shot them with bow and arrows. Women and children then caught the birds and collected eggs from their nests. Fishing (creek and river) was done near the village sites, and the fish were stored in large subsurface caches and is domestic and most common. The main economical fish (Tanacross , Upper Tanana ) species are mostly whitefish (humpback whitefish, round whitefish Tanacross ) and Pacific salmon (king (chinook) Upper Tanana , Tanacross , red (sockeye)