Animals · Ice: the Arctic and Antarctica

Reindeer

Rangifer tarandus

A three thousand mile annual migration

A male reindeer with fully grown antlers crosses the tundra during its autumn migration.

Status: Threatened
Tundra and taiga of Northern Europe, Siberia, Alaska, Canada, Greenland

Numbers

Weight: 330 lbfemales 175-265 lb, males 200-460 lb
Length: 75 infemales 64-80 in, males 71-84 in
Height: 47 inat the shoulder, from 33 to 59 in
Lifespan: 15 yearsfrom 12 to 15 years in the wild
Annual migration: 3100 miNorth American caribou, the longest among land mammals
Speed: 50 mphduring migration, from 37 to 50 mph
Antlers: 53 inmaximum length; width up to 39 in

Ten fun facts

in North America the reindeer is called caribou: it is the same species, with two names on different sides of the Atlantic.
the outer hairs of a reindeer are hollow and filled with air, covering a woolly undercoat that traps body heat.
when walking, the knees of many reindeer make a distinctive clicking sound that accompanies every single step of the animal.
the Svalbard reindeer is the smallest subspecies: females weigh about 115 pounds in spring and 155 pounds in autumn.
in spring, herds gather together and can reach 500,000 animals, before splitting up into smaller groups again in autumn.
the reindeer usually swims at four miles per hour and can reach six if needed, crossing lakes and rivers without stopping.
during the mating season, males stop eating completely and can gather up to twenty females around themselves.
the entire body of a reindeer was found inside the stomach of a Greenland shark, almost certainly already dead.
mosquitoes and blackflies torment reindeer in summer to the point of altering their feeding and breeding habits.
besides lichens, on occasion reindeer also eat lemmings, Arctic char, and bird eggs, according to several research reports.

The quiz answers

Five questions about this animal. Pick an answer and find out if it is the right one.

Question 1 of 5

How many miles do the most migratory caribou herds travel in a year?

Question 2 of 5

Who grows antlers in reindeer?

Question 3 of 5

What are the turbinates in a reindeer's nose for?

Question 4 of 5

What do reindeer mainly eat in winter?

Question 5 of 5

Which light can reindeer see, unlike humans?

Try it yourself

Experiment 1

Use a tape measure to mark 84 inches on the floor for the length of a large male reindeer. Then measure 59 inches for shoulder height.

Experiment 2

Find Norway, Siberia, Alaska, and Canada on a globe, then use a ruler to calculate three thousand miles on the scale to visualize their annual migration.

Experiment 3

Breathe onto a cold mirror and watch the condensation: it is the same moisture a reindeer nose recovers from exhaled air instead of losing it.

Data from Wikidata (Q39624) and Wikipedia (Reindeer).