Bateman, Robert (2008) - Woodland Caribou (Woodland Caribou Provincial Park) [Acrylic on canvas] ©Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Woodland Caribou are a species at risk that are dependent on the boreal forest. The caribou feed on lichen (caribou moss) that only grow under mature conifers with an undisturbed forest floor. In his painting, Mr. Bateman shows a bull caribou in his prime with his white mane and antlers. He is standing on the shores of a boreal lake near a jack pine, the species that was made famous by Tom Thomson in his painting of that name. Located west of Red Lake on the border with Manitoba in northwestern Ontario, Woodland Caribou Provincial Park is a northern wilderness covering 486,235 hectares (1.2 million acres).