Class: MAMMALIA

Order: ARTIODACTYLA

Family: CERVIDAE

Genus: RANGIFER

Species: TARANDUS, +5?

The terms “reindeer” and “caribou” refer to the same species – though “reindeer” originates in Europe, from Old Norse “hreinn”, referring to the animal. The term “caribou” originates in North America, and is thought to be a Canada-French derivative of the Mi’kmaq “ğalipu”, “snow-shoveler”, referring to the animal’s behavioural trait of removing snow to find grass to eat underneath. Reindeer are traditionally classified as only one species, R. tarandus - though some biologists believe, attributing DNA evidence, lack of geographical overlap, and morphological differences, that Rangifer should be split into 6 species, between which there are several subspecies. Reindeer are essentially found over the entirety of the extreme northern hemisphere, from Canada upwards, in both Europe and North America. An introduced population has also existed on the South Georgia islands closer to Antarctica - introduced by Norwegians during the 1900s as a more conventional food-source. Reindeer at South Georgia would graze almost all available area - proving a negative effect for native nesting birds. An eradication of these reindeer populations has been undertaken - it is believed none remain. Reindeer have also been re-introduced to the United Kingdom - namely, a large herd has lived freely, albeit under human moderation, in the Cairngorms Mountains, since the year 1952. Accommodating a wide range are seven major populations of Reindeer; the European Tundra and Forest Reindeer, the Svalbard Reindeer, the Porcupine, Barren-ground, and North American Woodland Caribou, and the smallest, the Peary Caribou, measuring only 90 centimetres at the shoulder. [Compare with the average height of 140 or so centimetres] Fossils indicate a relatively recent origin of the reindeer, clocking in about 1 million years ago. Its sub-family, Capreolinae, is shared with various other species of deer, though it is the most evolutionarily distinct member of its sub-family.

Of the deer in its sub-family, it is fairly more stocky, and the bucks can weigh over 200 kilogrammes. The doe is more lightweight, and only weigh up to 100 or so kilogrammes less. It is a muscular deer, the deer has relatively thin legs – if the legs were to be thicker, the animal would be at a disadvantage of escaping predation. The hooves, however, are considerably wider than that of other deer species - as so to prevent reindeer from sinking into the soft tundra ground beneath. On the head of both sexes, unique amongst deer, are a pair of antlers. The antlers of the male can grow especially large, weighing alone up to 15 kilogrammes, though the antlers of the female are fairly smaller. The opposite sexes, however, shed the antlers at different times of the year – Males lose the antlers around early Winter, though the does lose their antlers around early May. A reason for this may be because of food availability – in that pregnant females are at more need of food than mature male deer. And as such, to protect food from competitors is essential for both the mother and fawn. The skull of the reindeer is typical amongst deer – it is fairly elongated, with about 34 teeth. With no incisors at the upper jaw, reindeer cannot chew most polygonal solid food – the teeth are rather built for eating grass. As is the case with a fair number of mammals, the reindeer has two layers of fur, guard hairs and underfur – making for effective insulation from harsh temperatures, which may descend as low as 62 degrees Celsius below zero. The typical colouration of reindeer is a brownish colour, with a whitish neck. In several cases, the deer have a lone stripe on the lower belly. The underbelly is white. In polar regions, the colouration is more contrasted, though in more northern areas, such as Svalbard, the brownish areas may be rather light in colour, making contrast less evident. The reindeer of European forest appear less saturated in colour. Peary caribou have no stripe – only a white body, and a brownish back. As the deer moults their hide in the summer, the hide takes on a mottled appearance of varying contrast. Caribou of the forest also appear less stocky than tundra animals, likely as a result of area to traverse. On reindeer, hair is comparatively more abundant than in other deer - reindeer maintain hair above the nose, and also at the hoof.

Occupying the north, the typical habitat of reindeer is tundra, and in some cases woodland. The deer are typically social, and may form groups of up to 13 or so. Reindeer are typically placid animals, though can be defensive against predators. Reindeer serve a grazing niche in a tundra environment, as well as providing a food source for carnivores, which may more often take on fawns as opposed to grown animals. As is the case with various other species of deer, reindeer bucks perform ruts around late September, to create a harem of does to breed with. Competition typically consists of the clashing of antlers, as so to defend against rival males. Typically, the larger buck is the one which comes out as victorious. When impregnated, the doe is pregnant for about 200 or so days before a fawn is born, though this can vary amongst populations – European reindeer pregnancies may last up to 220 days, though their American counterparts lack a month of such. Reindeer of northernmost populations, at certain times of the year, lack circadian rhythms as so to adapt to the irregular day-night cycle. At around 5 years of age, the fawn is independent of its parents. As a reindeer walks, the feet of the deer emit a ‘clicking’ sound – it is believed that this mechanism was evolved as so to keep the herd of reindeer in conjunction, in the case of impairment of sight. Grunting is also important as communication – in the cases of mothers keeping fawns close by, or males rutting towards females. In a wild state, reindeer, as relatively large herbivores, are predated on only by wolves, and perhaps humans. On average, a wild reindeer is to live for about 15 years, though animals in captivity may live up to 20 years.

Reindeer have, on average, 2000 guard hairs for every cubed centimetre, making them amongst the hairiest of all deer species.

Interactions of people and reindeer appear to have begun far longer ago than traditionally thought – in that traditional estimates put reindeer domestication as only a result of a few centuries, though recent years have led to the discovery of ancient artifacts thought to be reindeer harnesses – radio-carbon dated to about 2,000 years, originating in northern Siberia. It is also known that around 700 years ago, the Sámi people used reindeer as a form of transportation to pull sleds as working animals. Interestingly, where peoples of Eurasia successfully domesticated reindeer, the Caribou of North America were never domesticated. Even today, the traditional herding of reindeer continues – when such occurs, the herders follow an organised migration path of the reindeer, which requires astute and intimate knowledge of the reindeer involved and their surroundings. It also requires an understanding of reindeer husbandry – namely which reindeer are to be slaughtered, which are to become draft-animals, and which are to be castrated. Although a need for transportation has been lessening in recent years, reindeer are still herded for meat, hide, and milk. This, thus, makes them the only species of deer that has become somewhat domesticated. In more recent times, reindeer farming has proven to be marketable. This is largely in part due to the Western conception of reindeer – although reindeer have played a role in mythology for thousands of years, as symbols of luck, riches, and allure, it would not be popular with the Western World until the 1800s, with the publication of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” – introducing the characters of eight flying reindeer - “Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Dunder and Blixem*!” It would not be until 1939 when a ninth reindeer was added to the Yuletide roll-call – when Robert L. May of the Montgomery Ward department store would be asked to write a Christmas story as a promotional event. And so it would be that Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer, would be the most recent member of the Yuletide herd, and about 10 years later, May’s brother-in-law would write a song based off May’s book. At this point in time, reindeer were essentially contemporary with the holiday scene. Such popularity has led to reindeer becoming popular attractions across the Western world, making appearances at public facilities, such as manors and gardens, as so to capitalise off holiday enthusiasm. This, however, has not been met without controversy – the RSPCA of the United Kingdom has expressed concern for reindeer used in public events, in that the social animals are likely under great stress when usually kept alone in small areas to meet passing tourists. Most tour-reindeer live on nearby farms throughout the year, rented typically only during the holiday season, proving as popular tourism attractions.

*”Dunder” and “Blixem” are now commonly referred to in most cases as “Donner and Blitzen.” The two words translate from Dutch to “thunder” and “lighting” respectively.

As demand for holiday recreation continues, it seems likely that neo-domesticated reindeer will survive for many years to come, popular as tourist attractions, and to a lesser extent source of food. The reindeer of the Indigenous peoples, however, is semi-domesticated, the future of these animals lying in the management of Indigenous peoples, and the management of the land both the people and deer live on. In recent times, Climate Change has become a subject of concern for not only reindeer, but other animals of the Polar environments, as well as various tribes of Indigenous people, Sámi included. Reindeer play a vital source in the everyday life and tradition of the Sámi people, and so if the weather conditions are to greatly deteriorate, it could lead to great die-offs of reindeer, leaving the future of the Sámi peoples uncertain. The same conditions which concern the future of the Sámis’ reindeer also concern wild reindeer. Even if the reindeer of Western countries are to survive, it would leave only a limited genetic pool of animals, and efforts to create a breeding population of deer, whilst possible, would have to be very concerted. As of yet, there is not yet a great decline in the number of deer, though there is concern that the number of mature deer is decreasing. As well as increasing global temperatures, some reindeer populations are also affected by deforestation, in particular forest caribou of North America, and forest reindeer of Europe. North American caribou have also been persecuted by settlers, and are continually persecuted by similar hunters to this day, possibly jeopardising caribou-related traditions of Indigenous communities. It is thought also that competition with domesticated reindeer also acts as a minor threat. Warmer summers as a result of increasing temperatures also lead to an increase in parasitic insects, such as mosquito – leading to outbreaks of diseases in reindeer, and large-scale deaths from such have been reported in reindeer of Europe. As such, many herds of reindeer today now belong to organised conservation plans, which follow management systems. Even so, the climactic changes of Earth mean that to protect wild reindeer will need to extend beyond habitat management, possibly extending into how people manage large-scale planetary ecosystems. If the existence of the Tundra is able to be secured, it would, by extension, secure the survival of wild and domesticated reindeer for years to come.

Please note that the Wenden Animal Encyclopaedia is not directly affiliated with any of the links below, and thus is not responsible for any content they may provide, or the accuracy of such content.

reindeerherding.org - International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry

cairngormreindeer.co.uk - Cairngorm Reindeer Herd