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Physical Description

Rangifer can vary in size among the different subspecies. Generally speaking, the herds that occupy the southern end of their species range tend to be larger than their Northern cousins. Rangifer have a short, brown coat in the summer season. Their winter coat consists of long, hollow hairs that have a honeycomb pattern on the inside, and a light brown downy underwool. Both are light weight and insulate them from the harsh Arctic winter.

Reindeer Stats

Reproduction

Reindeer are seasonal breeders that mate in the fall and give birth in the spring. 

Mating

• Male reindeer prepare for mating season by rubbing velvet off their antlers, and swelling their necks/entering the “rut” (mating season) in late summer/early fall.
• A male’s body changes in preparation for the rut. They rub the velvet off their antlers, their necks swell and they become leaner elsewhere (they eat little during rut). The males battle each other, with battles even resulting in death. The winner chooses 5 to 15 females to be in his harem.
• Females that become pregnant have a gestation period of 7.5 months. They give birth to typically one calf, usually in April/May.
• At birth, the newborn weighs ~5 to 15 pounds and is able to stand within just one hour after birth. A reindeer calf drinks its mother’s rich milk and begins adding solid food to its diet at just one week old. By two weeks, it has doubled its birth weight. It is weaned about six months later.
• Females reach sexual maturity at four years old and males reach sexual maturity at six years old.

Gestation 

• Gestation lasts about 7.5 months
• Females give birth to one calf, usually in April/May.

Calving 

• Calving is highly synchronous, with 80–90% of calves born within a 10-day period

Diet

Reindeer are ruminants, which are hoofed herbivorous grazing or browsing mammals. Wild caribou eat mosses, herbs, ferns and grasses when available. They also eat the shoots and leaves of shrubs and trees. In winter, they mainly consume lichen and fungi, scraping the snow away with their hooves to get it. An average adult reindeer eats 9 to 18 pounds of vegetation a day. Our captive reindeer are fed a balanced, pelleted feed during winter (and lichen treats here and there).

Behavior and Communication

Reindeer are social animals that live in herds of 10 to a few hundred. In the wild, caribou may form super herds of 50,000 to 500,000 in the spring. They migrate south to follow food sources, traveling up to 1,000 miles. They communicate with each other through snorts, grunts, and hoarse calls, especially during the breeding season or rut.