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Information
Caribou
have large, concave hooves that are ideal for traveling
over snow or soft ground, and for digging in search
of snow-covered lichens. The hooves are sharply edged
for ice travel and are wide to serve as paddles when
swimming. Caribou prefer mostly barren land during the
summer months, moving to areas of mixed forests during
the colder months. Caribou are herbivores. Their main
food source is lichens, which gives caribou an advantage
in the more harsh northern areas of its range where
vegetation is scarce. The common "caribou moss" is actually
a type of lichen (Cladonia rangiferina), which is a
major food for caribou. Caribou also eat vegetation
such as grasses, sedges, birch and willow leaves, and
mosses.
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