Goose droppings as food for reindeer

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Authors: van der Wal, René, Loonen, Maarten JJE
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1998
• Subjects: Svalbard; Branta leucopsis; Rangifer tarandus; Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus; svalbard reindeer; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z98-033; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z98-033

Feeding conditions for Svalbard reindeer, Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus, on Spitsbergen are generally poor,owing to low availability of forage. We report on coprophagy: the use of goose faeces as an alternative food source for reindeer.Fresh droppings from Barnacle Geese, Branta leucopsis, placed in a field were readily used as food by reindeer. The majorityof reindeer visiting the research area were feeding on droppings instead of plants. Moreover, experiments revealed that reindeerwere highly selective, favoring droppings containing grass fragments over those containing moss fragments. This preferencecould hardly have been based on differences in mineral content (nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, sodium,potassium) or energy content. However, fibre content was found to correlate negatively with the percentage of moss indroppings. Selecting grass-containing droppings would therefore provide more digestible bites. The rate of intake of droppingseasily outweighed the intake rate of forage. In total, 36% of all goose droppings in the research area were removed by reindeer.We calculated that the goose droppings eaten met the entire daily energy requirements of 6–8 reindeer.