The life of a writer

Reindeer: 10 Fun Facts

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1. A Reindeer By Any Other Name is Still a Reindeer

In some regions of the world, Reindeer are called caribou. In North America reindeer refers to Eurasian populations and caribou refers to wild populations. 

 

2. Reindeer Belong to the Cervidae Family

Reindeer — aka Rangifer Tarandus — has 14 subspecies, which include deer, elk, moose, and wapiti. All Cervidae have antlers, hooves, and long legs.

3. Girls Can Do Everything Boys Can Do

Reindeer are the only species of deer in which both males and females grow antlers, and they grow a new set every year. Male antlers can grow up to 51 inches long and weigh up to 33 pounds. A female rack can grow up to 20 inches long.

According to the San Diego Zoo …

Antlers are the reindeer’s most memorable characteristic. In comparison to body size, reindeer have the largest and heaviest antlers of all living deer species. A male’s antlers can measure up to 51 inches long and a female’s can reach 20 inches. All antlers have a main beam and several branches or tines that grow from the frontal bones of the skull. Sometimes little branchlets or snags are also present. The tip of each antler is called a point. Unlike horns, antlers fall off and grow back larger every year. As new antlers grow, the reindeer is said to be in velvet, because skin, blood vessels, and soft fur cover the developing antlers. When the velvet dries up, the reindeer rubs it off against rocks or trees, revealing the hardened, bony core.

4. Santa’s Reindeer Are Female

Since males grow antlers in February and females in May, they both finish growing their antlers at the same time. But male and female reindeer shed their antlers at different times of the year. Males drop their antlers in November, leaving them antler-less till the spring. Female reindeer keep their antlers through the winter months. They’re shed when their calves are born in May. So, since Santa’s reindeer all have antlers, he must have an all-female team. 🙂

5. Males are From Mars, Females are From Venus

It’s no surprise that males and females use their impressive antlers differently, right? Males use their antlers as weapons against predators and to woo females. Although females can also battle with these handy weapons, they mainly use their antlers to clear snow while foraging for food.

6. Reindeer Come in a Variety of Colors

Depending on the subspecies, region, sex, and even the season, reindeer fur colors range from dark brown in woodland subspecies to nearly white in Greenland. A reindeer’s coat is usually darker in the summer and lighter in the winter.

Reindeer have two coats: an undercoat of fine, soft wool 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 the animal warm against wind and cold. The hollow hairs also help the reindeer float, which aid them in swimming.

7. Their Hairy Hooves Aren’t Only Adorable But Practical

A reindeer’s hairy hooves give the animal an advantage when walking on frozen ground, ice, mud, or snow. Spongy footpads help them strut through marshy fields. In the winter, their hooves harden so they can dig into ice or snow and keep from slipping. When a reindeer swims, their broad, flat, two-toed hooves allow the animal to push water aside. They even have a dewclaw which acts as an extra hoof to assist in climbing rugged terrain.

8. The Nose Knows

A reindeer’s specialized nose helps to warm incoming cold air before it hits their lungs. Like dogs, their super sniffer can find food hidden under snow, locate danger, and recognize direction. Reindeer are the only deer species to have a hairy nose.

9. The More, The Merrier

Reindeer love to hang out in crowds. Not only are they safer from predators but they’re social animals, chatting amongst themselves with snorts, grunts, and hoarse calls, especially during mating season. Calves bleat to call their mother.

They travel, feed, and rest in a herd of 10 to hundreds. In the spring, reindeer may even form super herds of 50,000 to 500,000. These herds follow food sources, traveling up to 1,000 miles during harsh winters.

10. Catch Me If You Can

During migration, reindeer cover from 12 to 34 miles per day and can run at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour. Even a day-old calf can outrun an Olympic sprinter!

A local reader made me this wooden Poe ornament … Isn’t it awesome? Best readers ever!

In the Coletta house, the family gathers at our house on Christmas Eve day. I have lots of baking and last-minute things to complete today, but I couldn’t concentrate on the upcoming celebration without wishing you, my beloved community, a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or Happy Kwanza.

May all your dreams come true in 2019!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sue Coletta is an award-winning crime writer and an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Feedspot and Expertido.org named her Murder Blog as “Best 100 Crime Blogs on the Net.” She also blogs on the Kill Zone (Writer's Digest "101 Best Websites for Writers"), Writers Helping Writers, and StoryEmpire. Sue lives with her husband in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Her backlist includes psychological thrillers, the Mayhem Series (books 1-3) and Grafton County Series, and true crime/narrative nonfiction. Now, she exclusively writes eco-thrillers, Mayhem Series (books 4-9 and continuing). Sue's appeared on the Emmy award-winning true crime series, Storm of Suspicion, and three episodes of A Time to Kill on Investigation Discovery. When she's not writing, she loves spending time with her murder of crows, who live free but come when called by name. And nature feeds her soul.

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