Five Fun Facts About Reindeer
By Mark Madison, Historian with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1. In North America we traditionally call reindeer caribou. Reindeer is from the Norse word “hreinn” for horned animal. Caribou comes to up from Native peoples “qalipu” converted to French which means “snow shoveler.”
2. Unlike most deer species, both male and female reindeer grow antlers. So we really don’t know the sex of Santa’s reindeer.
3. Some North American herds of caribou can migrate more than 3,000 miles a year, the longest migration of any land mammal. Hence they are the ideal ally for Santa’s global travels.
4. Caribou are amazingly adapted to the coldest habitat on the planet. Their noses actually warm the air they breathe before it enters their lungs. Their fur traps air providing insulation and flotation when they cross icy rivers. Their hooves are are large, hollowed out with sharp edges to provide the best possible traction on slippery ice. So they won’t slip off an icy cliff in Alaska or, in Santa’s case, off of your rooftop.
5. USFWS Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is home to the 197,000 member Porcupine caribou herd whose range is the size of Wyoming. The herd’s range is international including the refuge lands in Alaska and Canada’s Yukon and Northwest Territories. So the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is officially one of Santa’s helpers.
