Reindeer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Reindeer(Caribou) |
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| A reindeer in Norway | |
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See text, traditionally 1, but possibly up to 6 |
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| Reindeer range: North American (green), Eurasian (red), and Alaskan introduced (orange) |
The reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) is an even-toed ungulate mammal of the deer family. In North America it is also called caribou. There are about 10-20 reindeer subspecies. The reindeer is the only deer that has been domesticated. Although reindeer are quite numerous, some species and subspecies are in decline and considered vulnerable.
Contents
Appearance
The different reindeer subspecies have different sizes and slightly same fur colors. Male reindeer are usually bigger and heavier than the females. Reindeer are about 1.20 - 2.20 meters long and about 0.90 - 1.40 meters high. They weigh between 60 - 300 kilograms. Reindeer mostly have a grey-brown fur. The fur is dark in summer and becomes a lighter color in winter. Reindeer have big feet that help them walk on soft ground.
North American Caribou and Eurasian Reindeer are the same species, but there are some noticeable differences in the subspecies.
Reindeer: - most commonly found as domesticated animals - sedentary - breeding starts mid-Aug - can be pinto colored - dark brown calves - more fat - thicker fur - shorter face and muzzle - males have larger antlers than female caribou
Caribou:
- wild - migratory - breeding starts mid-September - never pinto colored - light brown calves
Antlers
Reindeer are the only deer where both sexes have antlers. The antlers of female reindeer are smaller than the antlers of males.
"The antlers start growing in April and are fully developed by Autumn"; "reindeers shed their antlers, the bucks just before Christmas and the females later in the spring". "On a large buck, the antlers can grow up to a centimeter a day".
Range
Reindeer can be found in Lapland (Northern Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia), North America (All over Canada and on farms across North America where they are raised in captivity), and Siberia. They were first used by people to do work in Lappland and Siberia.
Habitat
Reindeer live in coniferous forest and Arctic conditions. The historic range of the reindeer is threatened by global warming.
Life
Reindeer are herd animals and live in groups. They live in groups of 10-100 reindeer, which are herds of only females or herds of only males. Reindeer go on long journeys between the warm and cold seasons. For this journeys the smaller groups form big herds of up to several 100,000 animals. Reindeer mate in October, and the males mate with as many females as possible.
Feeding habits
Reindeer eat mostly grass, but eat also almost any other plant. In winter they often eat lichen, moss and fungi. "During winter, they find lichen by using their hooves to get under the snow"
Health
Pregnancy
After a pregnancy of 230 days the female gives birth to a single baby, usually in May or June. Reindeer babies do not have spots on their fur, like most other deer babies have. Young reindeer become mature when they are 2 year old. Reindeer usually live to be 12–15 years old, sometimes they can live to be 20 years old.
Reindeer and humans
Reindeer have been hunted by humans since the stone age. People, especially in the northern regions, used the reindeer's meat, fur, skin, antlers and bones.
The reindeer was domesticated about 3 thousand years ago. It was first domesticated in Siberia and Scandinavia. Since then, reindeer have also been used for transport, for example for pulling sleds. Because reindeer can live in very cold climates, domesticated reindeer are used in most northern parts of the world.
Among the ethnic groups that use reindeer - for fur, and food - are the Sami people in Lapland.
Conservation
According to the IUCN, Rangifer tarandus, as a species, is not endangered because of its overall large population and its widespread range, but, as of 2015, the IUCN has classified the reindeer as Vulnerable due to an observed population decline of 40% over the last +25 years. Some reindeer species and subspecies are rare and three subspecies have already become extinct.
In North America, the Queen Charlotte Islands caribou and the East Greenland caribou both became extinct in the early 20th century, the Peary caribou is designated as Endangered, the boreal woodland caribou is designated as Threatened and some individual populations are endangered as well. While the barren-ground caribou is not designated as Threatened, many individual herds — including some of the largest — are declining and there is much concern at the local level. Grant's caribou, a small, pale subspecies endemic to the western end of the Alaska Peninsula and the adjacent islands, has not been assessed as to its conservation status.
The status of the Dolphin-Union "herd" was upgraded to Endangered in 2017. In NWT, Dolphin-Union caribou were listed as Special Concern under the NWT Species at Risk (NWT) Act (2013).
Both the Selkirk Mountains caribou (Southern Mountain population DU9) and the Rocky Mountain caribou (Central Mountain population DU8) are classified as Endangered in Canada in regions such as southeastern British Columbia at the Canada–United States border, along the Columbia and Kootenay Rivers and around Kootenay Lake. Rocky Mountain caribou are extirpated from Banff National Park, but a small population remains in Jasper National Park and in mountain ranges to the northwest into British Columbia. Montane caribou are now considered extirpated in the contiguous United States, including Washington and Idaho. Osborn's caribou (Northern Mountain population DU7) is classified as Threatened in Canada.
In Eurasia, the Sakhalin reindeer is extinct (and has been replaced by domestic reindeer) and reindeer on most of the Novaya Zemlya islands have also been replaced by domestic reindeer, although some wild reindeer still persist on the northern islands. Many Siberian tundra reindeer herds have declined, some dangerously, but the Taymir herd remains strong and in total about 940,000 wild Siberian tundra reindeer were estimated in 2010.
In popular culture
Around the world, public interest in reindeer peaks in the Christmas period. According to folklore, Santa Claus's sleigh is pulled by flying reindeer.
Rudolph the reindeer has a red nose.
Images for kids
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Losing the velvet layer under which a new antler is growing, an annual process
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frameless
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In Sweden
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The size of the antlers plays a significant role in establishing the hierarchy in the herd.
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In Sweden
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In Suomussalmi, Finland
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Licking salt from a roadway in British Columbia
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Standing on snow to avoid bloodsucking insects
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Pulling a sled in Russia
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An early 20th century Inuit parka made of caribou skin
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A team pulling a sled in the Arkhangelsk Governorate of Russia, late 19th-century photochrom
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The tragelaphus or deer-goat
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Milking
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Crossing frozen water
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Drawing a wagon
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Drawing a one-man sled
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Reindeer-mounted cavalry
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See also
In Spanish: Reno para niños
