Collecting Lichen for Caribou Conservation | Parks Canada

_{This YouTube video was produced by Parks Canada.}

In the wild, lichen is a vital winter food source for caribou when other foods are scarce. Lichen is a slowgrowing organism made up of a fungus and an alga.

Reindeer lichens grow in large patches on the ground across Canada’s tundra, forests and mountains. So, no surprise this is where you will find caribou!

In Parks Canada’s Caribou Conservation Breeding Centre, lichen is essential for supplementing pellet food with more natural forage. Lichen will be an ongoing need at the Caribou Conservation Breeding Centre, but collecting lichen is not something that we can do alone.

As part of their collaboration with Jasper National Park’s Caribou Recovery Program, partners from Aseniwuche Winewak Nation, Kelly Lake Cree Nation and Mountain Cree are collecting lichen from their traditional territories to bring to the caribou in the Conservation Breeding Centre.

Parks Canada’s Caribou Conservation Breeding Program, the first for caribou in North America, is working to rebuild caribou herds in Jasper National Park.

Find out how: parks.canada.ca/caribou-jasper

_{Cette vidéo est aussi disponible en français : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlV0uxJ26CQ}

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