Critter Science
  • Store
  • Zoology
    • About Me
    • Critter Questions
  • Daily Critter Facts
  • BYET
    • About BYET
    • Ernie on Fine Art America
    • BYET Gallery 1
    • BYET Gallery 2
    • BYET Gallery 3
    • BYET Gallery 4
    • BYET Gallery 5
    • BYET Gallery 6
    • BYET Gallery 7
  • For Teachers
    • Teacher Critter Resources
    • What is a Marsupial?
    • Butterfly Life Cycle
      • Butterfly Metamorphosis
      • World’s Largest Butterfly
      • World’s Largest Moth
    • Types of Animal Dormancy
    • Hibernating vs Brumating
    • Metamorphosis – A Frog’s Life Cycle
      • Frog Metamorphosis
      • Poison Dart Frog
    • What are Species?
    • Animal Word Search
    • Connect the Dots
    • Coloring Pages
  • Contact
    • General Contact
Donate Today
reindeer

Ho, Ho, Ho, It’s a Reindeer!

  • 25 December, 2018
  • Critter Man
  • No Comments
  • 152 Views
  • 0 Likes
Daily Critter Facts

Reindeer (aka caribou), contrary to popular legend do not fly, have red noses, nor do they carry Santa’s sleigh through the skies. That doesn’t mean they aren’t still cool… literally! Hey, they live way up north where it’s always chilly. Read more and you’ll also learn a little known but interesting gender-based fact as well.

First the Stats…

Scientific name: Rangifer tarandus
Weight: Up to 400 lbs.
Height: 2.8 – 4.9 feet (at the shoulder)
Lifespan: Up to 10 years for males | Up to 15 years for females

Now on to the Facts!

1.) They have specially designed noses with a complex array of blood vessels that warm the frigid air they breathe before it gets to their lungs.

2.) Their hooves may seem a little magical,l as they expand in summer when the ground is soft and shrink in winter when the ground gets hard.

3.) Some caribou migrate up to 3,000 miles each year!

4.) Even thought reindeer are thought of as living in the tundra, there used to be a species that lived in Southern Idaho. They were over-hunted and driven out. There are conservation efforts in place that are trying bring the species back.

5.) The knees of some reindeer subspecies actually make a kind of clicking noise which helps them locate each other in times of blizzards.

But wait, there’s more on reindeer!

6.) These critters have been herded for centuries by various peoples!

7.) “Reindeer” is Norse, meaning “hreinn” for deer. It doesn’t relate to being reined to a sled. “Caribou” is from the French word “qalipu,” meaning “snow shoveler.”

Did you know…?
Male reindeer lose their antlers in November, however females keep theirs much longer. This means that Santa Claus’ reindeer would have all been female, since they are depicted as having horns on December 24.

8.) Reindeer are herbivores (only eat vegetation). Their diet includes herbs, mosses, ferns, shoots, grasses, fungi, and leaves.

9.) In the winter, reindeer have to dig through the snow to find food. They dig using their antlers and munch on energy-packed lichens called reindeer moss.

10.) They are social creatures that live in herds numbering from 10 individuals, to a few hundred. This number can increase to a few hundred thousand in the spring!

Now a Short Reindeer Video!

Learn more about all kinds of cool critters here.

Be sure to comment below!

antlerscariboudeerflyherbivorereindeer
Critter Man

With over 45 years of critter experience to my credit and hundreds of zoology teaching hours to people around the world, I have amassed not only a continuing thirst for critter knowledge but a desire to teach others all I can about the majesty and wonder of our natural world. Critter Science is a culmination of such knowledge. I have hands on as well as book acquired intel on all kinds of critters. Whether they're on land, sea, or in the air. I will never say that I know everything about all animals. That's impossible, even for a savant. But, that being said, ask me any animal question and I'll answer it. If I don't know the answer, I'll get an answer for you!

Welcome the World’s Tallest Bird… The Ostrich
The Endangered Pangolin
Related Posts
  • pygmy hippopotamus
    The Pygmy Hippopotamus 27 January, 2021
  • mimic octopus
    The Amazing Mimic Octopus 26 January, 2021
  • basking shark
    The Big Mouthed Basking Shark 25 January, 2021
  • Store
  • Zoology is My Passion
  • Daily Critter Facts
  • Teachers
  • BYET
  • Contact

Copyright © 2021, Critter Science. All Rights Reserved.