The Tupelo journal., 1906-03-16
HABITS OF THE CARIBOU.
Live Principally Upon Moss, Lichen
and Fungoid Growths Found
in the Woods.

The caribou, or American reindeer,
roams from the north shores of Hudson
bay to the coast of Labrador, and as
far south as the forty-ifth parallel of
latitude on the eastern part of the CONT
nent. Sometimes in mountainous Sec
lions they will go even farther south.
a y the Lewiston (Me.) Journal.
They are not so large as their Euro
pean cousin, and unlike them will not
live in captivity. A moose or deer can
be easily tanned and become a domestic
animal, but the caribou is like the
partridge, if confined, he dies; if given
his liberty he wanders away. Caribou
care but little for grass, leaves or
browse, on which the moose and deer
subsist. They live principally on moss,
lichen, rotten wood, toad-stools and
mushrooms, and the wood-stools and
fungus growth or decaying trees They
like a billy, rocky place, and do not re-
main long in n place unless the
ground is broken or Uneven.
They will roam, however, all over
level woodland and even go into the
fields, but when they have devoured the
moss and toad-stools they on in
any direction the leaders nose is point
ed. Sometimes they travel alone, and
sometimes in little droves; but if you
see one caribou you may be sure there
are others near. They do not like deer
and will not stay long where deer
abound in great numbers. The deer
whip them. In religion, the caribou is
a Quaker. He will not fight. A par
fridge with a brood of chicks will drive
one. They are nothing for the deep
snow, in fact, they like it. as it enables
them to reach higher up the trees after
their favorite moss.
They never yard like noe and deer.
Their feet are large and the hoofs d.
vided very high; big claws ~protrude
from behind; when they travel over
the snow they spread their hoofs and
let part of the leg come down on the
snow, thus forming a snowshoe for each
foot. To see them walking over the
snow always reminds me of a boy on a
light crust on his hands and knees.
When they run on a frozen lake or a
hard logging road. their hoofs clatter
like a minstrel rafting the bones. AS
winter approaches the hair grows long
and thick and becomes almost white;
their hides are valuable for filling snow
shoes, as it tightens up instead of bag
ging down when it becomes wet. The
flesh is far superior to that of the deer
or moose. 1t has a wild, gamy flavor of
its own that is not found in any other
animal. They have a habit of hiding
their young when small and going off
and leaving them, consequently many
of them are destroyed by foxes, wildcats
and other animals, while a deer will not
let her fawn get a rod away from her
nose until it is able to care for itself.
The caribou has great speed, and can
run ten miles an hour all day, and no
dog, wolf or other animal can catch
them; their scent is keen, and when
alarmed or startled it is of no use to
chase them. Yet there are times when
they do not appear to be afraid of men.
They are a curious quadruped, and
sometimes will come close up to a fire
where a half dozen men are talking and
smoking. or follow a man through the
woods when he wears a red jacket.
Like other wild animals, they like salt,
and / once shot one at a camp door,
where he was eating Goldfish skins.