Reindeer / Caribou

Rangifer tarandus

Reindeer / Caribou

– John Green, Nicki Minaj, Marianne Moore

Scientific Taxonomy & Character Information

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Clade: Synapsida

Class: Mammalia

Order: Artiodactyla

Family: Cervidae

Subfamily: Capreolinae

Genius: Rangifer

Species: Rangifer tarandus

Descendant: Odocoileini

Named by: Carl Linnaeus

Year Published: 1758

Size: 85 – 150 cm tall height; 1.8 – 2.1 m in length; 160 – 180 kg in weight

Lifespan: 15 to 18 years

Type: 

Title: 

Other Names/Aliases: 

Pantheon: Terran/Gaian

Time Period: Pleistocene (Chibanian) - Holocene

Alignment: Good

Threat Level: ★

Diet: Herbivorous (omnivorous partially)

Elements: n/a

Inflicts: n/a

Weaknesses: Fire, earth, electric, dark

Casualties: ???

Based On: itself

Conservation Status: 

Reindeer (in British English, Indian English, Philippine English, Malaysian English, or African English) or Caribou (in American English, Australian English, Canadian English, Guyanese English) (Rangifer tarandus) is the migratory deer species found in Northern portions worldwide.

Etymology

The use of the terms reindeer and caribou for essentially the same animal can cause confusion, but the International Union for Conservation of Nature clearly delineates the issue: "The world's Caribou and Reindeer are classified as a single species Rangifer tarandus. Reindeer is the European name for the species while in North America, the species is known as Caribou." The word rein is of Norse origin. The word deer was originally broader in meaning, but became more specific over time. In Middle English, der meant a wild animal of any kind, in contrast to cattle.

Physical Appearance

Both male and female reindeer grow antlers, while in most other deer species, only the males have antlers. Compared to their body size, reindeer have the largest and heaviest antlers of all living deer species. A male’s antlers can be up to 51 inches long, and a female’s antlers can reach 20 inches. Male ("bulls") and female ("cows") reindeer can grow antlers annually, although the proportion of females that grow antlers varies greatly between population and season. Antlers are typically larger on males. 


Unlike horns, antlers fall off and grow back larger each year. Male reindeer begin to grow antlers in February and female reindeer in May. Both sexes finish growing their antlers at the same time but shed them at different times of the year. Males drop their antlers in November, leaving them without antlers until the following spring, while females keep their antlers through the winter until their calves are born in May.


Reindeer are covered in hair from their nose to the bottom of their feet (hooves). The hairy hooves may look funny, but they give reindeer a good grip when walking on frozen ground, ice, mud, and snow.


Reindeer are the only deer species to have hair completely covering their nose. Their specialized nose helps to warm incoming cold air before it enters their lungs, and it’s also an excellent sniffer. Their good sense of smell helps the reindeer find food hidden under snow, locate danger, and recognize direction. Reindeer mainly travel into the wind so they can pick up scents.

Abilities

Reindeer used their horns for self-defense, for digging or for fighting against each other or enemy causing medium-chance stun.

Ecology

Reindeer are ruminants, having a four-chambered stomach. They mainly eat lichens in winter, especially reindeer lichen (Cladonia rangiferina); they are the only large mammal able to metabolize lichen owing to specialized bacteria and protozoa in their gut. They are also the only animals (except for some gastropods) in which the enzyme lichenize, which breaks down lichenin to glucose, has been found. However, they also eat the leaves of willows and birches, as well as sedges and grasses.  Lichens are slow-growing and are periodically unavailable for decades after fires sweep through the forests. Caribou tend to avoid burnt areas preferring the forests 150 to 250 years after fires.


Reindeer are osteophagous, they are known to gnaw and partly consume shed antlers as a dietary supplement and in some extreme cases will cannibalize each other's antlers before shedding. There is also some evidence to suggest that on occasion, especially in the spring when they are nutritionally stressed, they will feed on small rodents (such as lemmings), fish (such as the Arctic char), and bird eggs. Reindeer herded by the Chukchis have been known to devour mushrooms enthusiastically in late summer.


A variety of predators prey heavily on reindeer, including overhunting by people in some areas, which contributes to the decline of populations. Golden eagles prey on calves and are the most prolific hunter on the calving grounds. Wolverines will take newborn calves or birthing cows, as well as (less commonly) infirm adults. Brown bears and polar bears prey on reindeer of all ages but, like wolverines, they are most likely to attack weaker animals, such as calves and sick reindeer, since healthy adult reindeer can usually outpace a bear. The grey wolf is the most effective natural predator of adult reindeer and sometimes takes large numbers, especially during the winter. Some wolf packs, as well as individual grizzly bears in Canada, may follow and live off of a particular reindeer herd year-round. 


In 2020, scientists on Svalbard witnessed, and were able to film for the first time, a polar bear attack reindeer, driving one into the ocean, where the polar bear caught up with and killed it.


Adult survival is typically high (80-90%), while calf survival is annually variable. The annual life-cycle starts with the cows being bred in the fall rut (September-October) and then calving in June after a gestation averaging 225–235 days. The cow’s autumn body condition determines the age of first pregnancy and the annual likelihood that a cow will conceive. Barren-ground Caribou usually calve at 3 years of age and usually calve annually but reproductive pauses occur if a cow has not regained sufficient fat and protein reserves by the rut and thus does not conceive. Overall across the circum-arctic countries, the trend is an inferred 40% decline over the previous 10-25 years, when Rangifer declined from about 4,800,000 to 2,890,410. There are national, but no global, databases to assess conservation status, although the Circum-Arctic Rangifer Assessment Monitoring and Assessment (CARMA) network tracks trends in migratory tundra reindeer.

Behavior

Reindeer are very friendly to humans, but very defense against predators. Reindeer are timid herd animals who have evolved to travel long miles every day in search of lichen, herbs, and other resources. They have trouble adjusting to being in captivity or traveling the nation to take part in celebrations in different cities. They are often amiable toward people, and one important reason for this is that they are herbivores. Reindeer won't try to devour you if there's one thing you can count on.


Mountain Caribou rely on migrating between lowland winter ranges to high elevation calving and summer ranges on the alpine tundra. Forest (and woodland Caribou) Reindeer are dispersed at low densities and undertake relatively small-scale seasonal migrations with selecting calving areas in boggy areas on small islands in lakes. In Greenland with its narrow coastal strip of ice-free land that is dominated by fiords and mountains, movement is restricted and generally oriented on an east-west axis.

Distribution and Habitat

Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and hilly areas of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America were home to reindeer. Both migratory and stationary populations of reindeer exist, and the size of their herds varies substantially between locations. Certain subspecies of tundra are suited for long-distance migration, and others are specialized for extremely cold temperatures.


Tamed

Adult stag and doe cannot be tame, but the fawn can be tame. The fawn feed harmlessly and eat lichens in winter, especially reindeer lichen (Cladonia rangiferina); they are the only large mammals able to metabolize lichen owing to specialized bacteria and protozoa in their gut.

Lore

In traditional United States Christmas legend and beyond, Santa Claus's reindeer pull a sleigh through the night sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to good children on Christmas Eve.

Known Individuals

Past and Present Incidents - Individuals


The Recollections of Queen Arianna - Individuals

Gallery

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Foreign Languages



Trivia