Monday 19 December 2011

Facts about The Reindeer

Herds of reindeer brave wolf packs, dangerous river crossings and hordes of blood-sucking flies on the exhausting migrations to and from the summer pastures of the High Arctic.

1) The female, or hind, reindeer is the only female deer to grow antlers. They are smaller than the males, but she keeps them all winter to help her defend patches of ground that she has cleared of snow from the stronger males.

2) The reindeer's twice-yearly migrations are one of the most awe-inspiring spectacles of the natural world. The reindeer travels in enormous mixed-gender herds, all in North America, each numbering 50,000-200,000 animals.

3) Depending on the terrain and weather conditions, a herd moves its home range by as far as 1000km, at a rate of 20-25km a day.

4) During the summer, the reindeer lives in herds of 20 to 30 animals, with the females and their calves remaining together and mature males living apart.

5) Constantly on the move, the summer herds are trailed by packs of wolves, which pick off the old, the weak and the sick.

6) The name Caribou is a native North American word meaning 'shoveller' and describes the way the reindeer digs into the snow.

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