Reindeer lichen in Dartmoor National Park

© Ian Redding/Getty Images Plus

Reindeer lichen in Dartmoor National Park

The slow-growing, cold-tolerant lichen is an important food source for reindeer. They’re the only large mammals able to digest it, so when grazing plants are scarce in winter, they have a plentiful supply of lichen to eat. Though this national park in Devon is an ideal habitat for reindeer lichen, there are no reindeer in Dartmoor – unless the man with the sleigh makes a stopover there to let his team fuel up.