Fun Facts About Reindeer

reindeer

The fable of flying reindeers hauling Santa’s sleigh is legendary. But how many of you actually know about the large antlers that swan the barren Tundra like the way you know about Santa’s famous eight? Being the largest existing species of its kind, this Cervidae mammal has a slew of peculiarities associated with it. Inhabiting the coldest latitudes on the globe, these antlers have many métiers that help them brave the extreme weather conditions. Reindeer, noted for the presence of deciduous antlers both in male and female, are also noted for their long migrations covering thousands of miles. Known as “Caribou” in North America, reindeers are distributed over Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Russia, Mongolia, northern China, Canada, Alaska Sakhalin, Greenland etc. Reindeer have been tamed by men for over 3,000 years now and are still domesticated widely for meat, hide, antlers, milk and transportation. Though nature has provided them with excellent camouflage, predators and humans often prey upon them.  Read on to know more about this animal.

Fast Facts 

Scientific Name: Rangifer tarandus
Type: Mammal
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Cervidae
Subfamily: Capreolinae
Genus: Rangifer
Origin: Northern Europe
Diet: Herbivore
Size:Up to five feet (1.52 meters)
Weight: 109 to 318 kg (240 to 700 lbs.)
Group Name: Herd
Lifespan: 10-15 years
Habitat: Arctic and subarctic regions of North America, Europe and Asia
Sexual Maturity: One and a half years
Gestation Period: 7 months (210-220 days)
Number Of Offspring: 1 young one per litter, each year

Interesting And Fun Facts About Reindeer

  • The antlers make reindeers different from other deer. Unlike other species of deer, both male and female reindeers have antlers. These antlers are not permanent. They shed during winter and grow during spring and summer.  The shedding of antlers during winter is a camouflage in the winter.
  • The females retain their antlers until they give birth to young ones, while males lose it during winter. (Hence, whether the reindeers riding Santa’s sleigh is male or female is debatable though the facts are inclined more towards female reindeers.)
  • The velvet covering of the antlers grow at an average rate of 2 cm per day. Antlers are the only mammalian organ to regenerate every year.
  • Reindeers tramp the Tundra’s during summer season and migrate to the southern region during winter, as they lose their thick coat if they remain in hot places.
  • Male reindeer is referred to as buck, female reindeer is called doe, and young reindeer is known as is fawn. Reindeers make a sound, which is called bellow.
  • Reindeers are herbivores and thrive on grass, tender leaves, lichens and plants. They have amazing sense of smell, which helps them to find out food even if it is buried under snow. Antlers help them to dig out food buried under ice. An adult reindeer can take up to 5 kg of food.
  • Male reindeers prefer solitary life whereas female reindeers live in herd.
  • The thick coat means a lot for reindeer. The thick coat has hollow, tubular hairs that not only protects the animal from cold weather, but also provides buoyancy.  The coat is thick enough to help them survive the extreme cold. Also, reindeers are able to lower the temperature of their legs to avoid heat loss through heat exchange with the snow.
  • They have broad hooves that act as snowshoes and aid in locomotion. Also, the hooves possess large dewclaw that aid traction. The tendon that rubs over the bone create a clicking sound and this sound helps them in keeping track of each other in snow blizzards. However, this sound is not developed before the first year of birth.
  • Reindeers develop a tuft of hair that covers its nose and protect them from getting frostbite while grazing through the snow.
  • Reindeer has unusual adaptation skills. It has an ability to lower the temperature in its legs so that it won’t lose its body heat walking on the snow-covered terrain.
  • Caribous cover about 5,000km and thus they cover longest distance. They travel the longest distance than any other terrestrial mammal.
  • Reindeers have good buoyancy and are good swimmers. The reindeers can run at a speed of 40-45 kms per hour.
  • Rut is from early September to late November. A healthy male can win over other male to achieve dominance, and a healthy male mates with 15-20 females and thus loses much of its fat reserve by the end of breeding season. Calves are born during May-June.
  • Reindeer calves can stand up within minutes after birth and they start grazing after 45 days of birth, but they continue to feed on mother’s milk until the following autumn.