Feeding reindeer in Ontario
The provincial government delivers food to them in helicopters and snowplows.
In the northwest of Ontario are wilderness areas where reindeer often winter. Traditionally, reindeer move for the winter to places where it is easier to get food: digging out moss from under the snow and eating tree trunks.
But in Ontario this winter, 50 centimetres of snow lasted more than 50 days, even though Ontario is far from Canada's not the snowiest province. So the provincial government is concerned about the reindeer's survival. They plan to be fed for four to six weeks.
This is not the first time wild animals in Ontario have been cared for in this way. Local conservationists have found out that reindeer like corn and oat mixes the best.
Reindeer aren't too afraid of people. We wrote about a case in B.C. — sometimes reindeer come to people's homes on their own. And if you don't feed the reindeer, not only can they starve to death, but B.C. is warmer than Ontario, so the reindeer don't need to be fed.
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