Wildlife
Reindeer
Reindeer, or caribou, can outperform all other land animals in their energy efficiency - so are a fitting choice as the legendary Christmas sleigh-pullers! They're more usually seen on their mammoth annual migration to the Arctic during which the North American herds might travel for more than 5,000km - an extraordinary feat that takes them further than any other land mammal. A warm, insulating coat and large hooves are vital to their survival strategy against the extreme cold and snow of the Arctic. Reindeer are the only deer where both males and females sport antlers, complex structures that can reach epic proportions in the males.
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Caribou rut
Kingdom of the Ice Bear
Agression develops among the males as the females come into heat.
Agression develops among the males as the females come into heat.
Wanderlust
Kingdom of the Ice Bear
A restless urge stirs the caribou to travel 600km to their traditional birthing areas.
A restless urge stirs the caribou to travel 600km to their traditional birthing areas.
Caribou calving
Kingdom of the Ice Bear
Caribou reach their remote calving grounds to give birth.
Caribou reach their remote calving grounds to give birth.
Heading south
Kingdom of the Ice Bear
Huge herds of restless caribou leave their calving grounds before the frosts arrive.
By late July the caribou are beginning to move south again on their annual migration. After calving, they come together to form huge herds as they travel south. They are constantly on the move, feeding on windblown hills to avoid the plagues of mosquitoes and blackfly which follow them.
Arctic feast
Kingdom of the Ice Bear
Autumn in the Canadian Arctic gives caribou a chance to fatten up for winter.
Autumn in the Canadian Arctic gives caribou a chance to fatten up for winter.
Distribution
Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
The Reindeer can be found in a number of locations including: Arctic, Asia, Europe, North America, Russia. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
Habitats
The following habitats are found across the Reindeer distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Mountain grassland
Taiga
Coniferous forest
Temperate grassland
TundraBehaviours
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Shedding body parts
Migration
Acoustic communication
Herbivorous
Maternal care
Polygynous
Active at birth
Social
Cold tolerant
Adapted to running
Chemical communication
Sexual dimorphism
Visual communication
ViviparousAdditional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Conservation Status
Least Concern
- EX - Extinct
- EW
- CR - Threatened
- EN - Threatened
- VU - Threatened
- NT
- LC - Least concern
Population trend: Stable
Year assessed: 2008
Classified by: IUCN 3.1
About
The reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one (or two, depending on taxonomy) has already gone extinct.
Reindeer vary considerably in color and size. Both sexes grow antlers, though they are typically larger in males. There are a few populations where females lack antlers completely.
Wild reindeer hunting and herding of semi-domesticated reindeer (for meat, hides, antlers, milk and transportation) is important to several Arctic and Subarctic people. Even far outside its range, the reindeer is well known due to the myth, probably originating in early 19th century America, in which Santa Claus's sleigh is pulled by flying reindeer, a popular secular element of Christmas. In Lapland, reindeer pull pulks.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia. If you find the content in the 'About' section factually incorrect, defamatory or highly offensive you can edit this article at Wikipedia. For more information on our use of Wikipedia please read our FAQ.
Classification
- Life
- Animals
- Vertebrates
- Mammals
- Cetartiodactyla
- Even-toed ungulates
- Deer
- Rangifer
- Reindeer
Sounds
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Reindeer calls (1:00)
BBC News about Reindeer
- Arctic reindeer 'can see in UV' Arctic reindeer can see into the ultra-violet spectrum, according to new research by an international team.
- Reindeer bolts from Mowbray Park
- Reindeer body clock switched off
- Eagles filmed hunting reindeer
- Reindeer herds in global decline
Video collections
Take a trip through the natural world with our themed collections of video clips from the natural history archive.
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Baby Animals
With Ooh's and Ahh's galore this video clip collection celebrates a world of adorable animal babies.
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The wildlife of Life
In autumn 2009, a major new series brought us life as we've never seen it before.
Elsewhere on the BBC
Elsewhere on the web
- Animal Diversity Web (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
- ARKive: Images of Life on Earth (arkive.org)
- IUCN Red List information (iucnredlist.org)
- Ultimate Ungulate fact file (ultimateungulate.com)
- Reindeer (wikipedia.org)
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BBC links
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