RUDOLPH’S FRIENDS

It will soon be time for Rudolph and friends to take their annual trip through the night skies helping Santa deliver presents to all good children. We know they are magical because they can fly, but what do we know about the rest of the species? While most reindeers can’t take to the air they are rather special in other ways. Here are some reasons why..

REINDEER and caribou are actually the same. They are called reindeer in Europe also in North America if they are domesticated, but caribou if they are wild. Caribou migrate up to 3,000 miles a year giving them slightly longer limbs.

Safety in numbers

There are 200,000 reindeer to be found in Lapland, 20,000 more reindeer than people.

They travel, feed and rest together in herds of ten up to a few hundred. A healthy adult reindeer is usually safe from predators, especially in a large herd where many individuals can watch for danger. It is the youngest calves and old, weak, ill or injured reindeer that are the most vulnerable. Depending on where they live, reindeer have to watch out for golden eagles, gray wolves, brown bears, Arctic foxes, mountain lions, coyotes, lynx, and dholes.

The herd generally follow food sources, travelling up to 1,000 miles south when food is hard to find in winter. They eat mosses, herbs, ferns, grasses, and the shoots and leaves of shrubs and trees, especially willow and birch. In winter they make do with lichen (also called reindeer moss) and fungi. Reindeer chat with each other with snorts, grunts, and hoarse calls, especially during the breeding season or rut. Calves bleat to call to their mother. They are the only deer species to be widely domesticated being used as beasts of burden and farmed.

Amazing Antlers

A reindeer’s most outstanding feature is their antlers. Unlike other deer both males and females grow antlers. In comparison to body size they have the largest and heaviest antlers of all deer types.

A male’s antlers can measure up to 130 cm (51 inches) long ; a female’s 50cm (20 inches).

Antlers fall off and grow back larger every year. Males begin growing their antlers in February, females in May. They both finish growing at the same time, but shed them in different seasons. Males use their antlers to attract females and fight rivals for partners. They then shed them in late November/early December when the rutting season is over. Females keep their antlers until spring using them to protect their calves and clear away snow to find food supplies for them.

That is why, despite their names, seeing they still have their antlers at Christmas it seems Santa’s reindeer must all be female!

Adaptability

Reindeer are built for staying warm in freezing temperatures. They are covered in hair right from their nose to the bottom of their feet.

They are the only deer species to have hair completely covering their nose.

These are also full of blood vessels which cool warm air down as it leaves the body and warms cold air up as it comes in - regulating body temperature and keeping the reindeers brain constantly warm and active. As you can see from the photo above, it gives their noses a distinctly redish tinge. Not as bright and glowing as Rudolph’s, but he isn’t as odd as you may think!

It also gives them a good sense of smell which helps them find food hidden under snow, locate danger and recognize direction. They mainly travel into the wind so they can pick up scents.

Their hairy hooves may look funny, but they give reindeer a good grip when walking on frozen ground, ice, mud, and snow.

Reindeer have two coat layers: an undercoat of fine, soft wool that stays right next to their skin, and a top layer of long, hollow guard hairs. The air trapped inside the guard hairs holds in body heat to keep a reindeer warm against wind and cold. The hollow hairs also help the reindeer float, allowing it to swim across a river, if needed. Being broad, flat, and having two toes, a reindeer’s hooves also allow it to push water aside when it swims.

Did you know? No two antlers are the same. Each has its own shape and design, like human fingerprints.

Question Time:

Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?

Donner and Blitzen Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Answer

What beautiful, clever, well adapted creatures. No wonder Santa chose them as his helpers!

Did you know?

Newborn calves are able to stand just one hour after birth, can follow their mother at five to seven hours old, and can outrun a human when one day old.