Reindeer Facts for Christmas!

Fun Facts About Santa’s Reindeer

            Since Christmas is this week, I thought I would share some fun facts about Santa’s main mode of transport—The Reindeer.

            Reindeer are also known as Caribou and are native to northern climates in North America and Northern Europe.  They make their home in the frozen tundra regions.

            Both males and females grow antlers and they are the only species of deer where both sexes do so.  They also have broad hooves that act sort of like snowshoes in the deep snow. 

            Surprisingly, these big animals eat plant material like grass, moss and lichen.  They used their strong sense of smell to locate the lichen under the snow. 

            While most reindeer do not fly, they can run as fast as 48 miles per hour and they may travel as many as 3,000 miles in a year during migration, not counting their round-the-world flight on Christmas Eve! 

            Santa’s team of famous reindeer may actually be an all-girl crew.  Since males would shed their antlers in the fall after mating and have lost most of their body fat by winter, the reindeer seen pulling Santa’s sleigh may be female as they are depicted with antlers and would be more likely to survive the cold winter’s night flight!

Hopefully, you have all been good this year and will receive a visit from the nine celebrity reindeer that transport the Man in the Red Suit and his sleigh full of toys.  Look for Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen and of course, Rudolph on Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas, Everyone! 

This blog brought to you by the Patton Veterinary Hospital serving Red Lion, York and the surrounding communities.

Fun facts adapted from findfast.org and livescience.com