Have You Herd About Reindeer?

Save 15% with the code SODALOVE. Click the link and save today and improve your gut health! https://olipop.pxf.io/c/3910316/1270030/12980

Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and reindeer if domesticated)[2] are deer in the genus Rangifer. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, Rangifer tarandus, with about 10 subspecies. A 2022 revision[3] of the genus elevated five of the subspecies to species (see Taxonomy below). They have a circumpolar distribution and are native to the Arctic, sub-Arctic, tundra, boreal forest, and mountainous regions of northern Europe, Siberia, and North America.[4]

Reindeer occur in both migratory and sedentary populations, and their herd sizes vary greatly in different regions. The tundra subspecies are adapted for extreme cold, and some are adapted for long-distance migration.

Reindeer vary greatly in size and color from the smallest species, the Svalbard reindeer (R. t. platyrhynchus), to the largest subspecies, Osborn's caribou (R. t. osborni). Although reindeer are quite numerous, some species and subspecies are in decline and considered vulnerable. They are unique among deer (Cervidae) in that females may have antlers, although the prevalence of antlered females varies by species and subspecies.

Reindeer are the only successfully semi-domesticated deer on a large scale in the world, and both wild and domesticated reindeer have been an important source of food, clothing, and shelter for Arctic people throughout history and are still herded and hunted today. Wild reindeer "may well be the species of single greatest importance in the entire anthropological literature on hunting."[5] In some traditional Christmas legends, Santa Claus's reindeer pull a sleigh through the night sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to good children on Christmas Eve.