But how did the reindeer survive the Medieval Warm period?

2008 Cape Farewell Expedition Blog » Blog Archive » Greenland Landings

I am part of the biogeography group (the study of plant and animal life) and what we have been doing is estimating the abundance of each species. One of the most interesting facts that I have learned is that a plant called lichen, (which only grows where there is little air pollution, so you won’t find it anywhere near a city) is the ONLY source of food for reindeer and caribou in the winter months. This plant takes about 15-20years to reach maturity (so we try not to step on them) and we have determined the maximum height to be 7cm. All of the plants here are of very similar height so they do not compete for sunlight, however if the climate gets warmer the other species will grow taller and drown out the lichen which means no more reindeer/caribou which in turn means a loss of food for Inuit communities and no one to pull Santa’s sled.