I'm talking about Reindeer here. We've all seen pictures, drawings and other art of Santa Claus and his eight tiny reindeer. A lot of us, can probably read off their names by memory. But I was reading a article about Reindeer today and learned some pretty neat stuff.

Antlers: Both male and femle Reindeer (Also known as Caribou in North America) grow Antlers. Male racks can grow up to 4 feet wide. However, the males shed their antlers in autumn and regrow them to full size by spring. Which means all the pictures and drawings of reindeer with their full racks pulling Santa's Sleigh are all females. Interesting huh? Come to think of it, the names do kinda sounds feminine too: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen.

Hooves: Many people across the world change their car tires during certain seasons; you have both Summer and Snow tires. Reindeer can basically do the same thing. During the winter months, the footpads on a reindeer's foot will shrink and toughen up. This forces the hard nail like hoof to dig into snow preventing the animal from slipping. During warmer seasons, the footpads become spongy allowing greater traction.

Coat: Reindeer have an undercoat of hollow fur which insulates their body much like a down filled jacket does with us. These hollow hairs also increase the reindeer's boyancy in water. They have been known to cross rivers and ponds even in arctic conditions with no difficulties.

Sight: Studies are being done now which in pretty interesting. The University of London believes that Reindeer are the only mammal that can see Ultraviolet light. So they can see urine marks and predator fur in an area which no other animal on the planet can see. This is something I never knew about.

Sounds: Every hear the christmas carol "Up on the Rooftop"? One of the lines is "Up on the rooftop click, click click". The Clicks refer to the noise that certain joints in the Reindeer legs makes. This is done on purpose and not part of arthritis or anything. During a heavy snow storm in the arctic, herds of reindeer will follow eachother across the tundra by listening to the clicks of their bones instead of navigating by sight or smell.


See how cool and interesting Ungulates can be? This is just one of over 350 species of Ungulate too. Stick around and I'll teach you a thing or two from others as time goes on.

Liedt, Ungulexpert.