Deer living in North America are also called Caribou. In scientific circles, they are also called Canadian deer. These animals are unusual in that they are the only ones of their kind that helped man to develop the northern lands. The Canadian reindeer is indispensable in the household and perfectly copes with the role of pack transport. Its habitat is the tundra.
Appearance features
Canadian tundra deer have several distinctive features that are not found in warmer climates. First of all, this is the hairline of the front of the lips. This feature is unique to deer living in the northern parts of the continents.
The Canadian deer has an elongated body, which gives it a visually medium size. His head is proportional and elongated. The neck, although it seems at first glance too wide, is actually quite thin, but overgrown with thick hair. Another of the distinguishing features of the Canadian deer from the southern species is its legs. They're incompared with relatives are shorter, so the animal looks squat. A deer can grow up to one and a half meters in height and reach two hundred kilograms. It is noteworthy that domesticated Canadian deer are smaller than wild ones. Their main feature, due to which these animals stand out among their relatives, is the presence of large branched horns, both in the male and in the female. At the same time, in females they are still less than in males. The weight of the antlers of an adult male Canadian deer can exceed 10 kilograms, and for females - no more than 6 kg. They have an asymmetrical shape and a huge number of different processes and blades.
Canadian deer fur features
Another feature that is unique to these animals is long fur, sometimes reaching 10 centimeters, and in the neck sometimes exceeding thirty. At the same time, the shortest hair is on the legs, but it is quite coarse and thick. The hairline is also in the hoof area and even between them. This feature makes their area wider.
During the warm months of the year, the color of the Canadian deer has a brown tint. In winter, it becomes variegated and light colors predominate. Males and females practically do not differ in color.
Reindeer, thanks to their thick and long fur, are adapted to living in conditions of extreme cold. This advantage plays not only a positive, but also a negative role. Because of the fur, they are not able to survive in heat conditions, since their sweat glands are underdeveloped. Therefore, these animals regulatebody temperature with deep breaths and sticking out tongue. Experts also attribute the unique ability to swim to the advantages. This is due to the fact that there is air between their hairs, which gives additional buoyancy to the Canadian deer.
Food
Because the Canadian deer lives in an exceptionally cold climate, it usually has to forage for food from under the snow. Moss, lichens and small branches of trees are fed. An interesting feature is the way the herd grazes. Each individual, pulling out a pair of leaves or shoots, moves to another place. Thus, even when a large herd is grazing, there is enough food even for those who go at the end.
