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| Questions & answers |
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What does the reindeer eat?
At first, people think that reindeer eat different lichens. However, they also graze on around 250 different green plant species. Reindeer graze on various lichens in the winter, such as reindeer lichen (Cladina), as well as other ground lichens (Cetraria, Cladonia, Sterecaulon) and tree lichens (Alectoria, Bryoria, Hypogymnia). Reindeer can also survive on other food, such as green winter plants (brushwood, certain types of grass), overwintering shoots and roots (particularly of plants in bogs). During the summer months, reindeer graze on various types of grass, sedges, herbs and leaves from the willow and birch. The reindeer is a true connoisseur, selecting certain species and preferring to feed on the youngest growth on the plant. In this way it can digest the food more easily, as the young parts of the plant do not contain as much vegetable fibre. During the autumn, reindeer are very partial to fungi, and spread over large areas looking for them. When there is no snow on the ground, the reindeer build up a significant fat reserve in order to survive the winter. |
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How do reindeer find grazing plants under the snow?
The reindeer has a very good sense of smell, and can detect the smell of reindeer lichen under a 70 cm deep snow covering, or more if the snow is porous. It is more difficult if the snow is too deep, hard or has an icy crust that does not allow any odours to pass through. In certain cases, the nature of the snow can be of more importance for how reindeer survive the winter than access to grazing plants. |
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What is a mountain reindeer and what is a forest reindeer?
The mountain reindeer lives in the mountains when there is no snow on the ground, and in coniferous forest during the winter. The forest reindeer lives in the forest region all year round. Here in Scandinavia, the reindeer is semi-domesticated and is used in both mountain and forest reindeer husbandry. They are one and the same breed, with the scientific name Rangifer tarandus tarandus, but we call them mountain reindeer and forest reindeer in everyday language based on the type of reindeer herding in question.
In central Finland there is a wild population of forest reindeer, which has the scientific name Rangifer tarandus fennicus. This breed is taller and has larger hooves than R. t. tarandus, which in turn has shorter legs and wider antlers. Both breeds are distributed across the whole of Eurasia, with R. t. tarandus having a more northerly range and R. t. fennicus a more southerly range. R. t. tarandus is also known as the tundra reindeer, while R. t. fennicus is known as the forest reindeer. |
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Why doesn't the reindeer freeze?
The reindeer is adapted to long, cold winters. Every part of a reindeer is covered in fur - they even have a hairy muzzle. The individual hairs on the body are hollow, providing excellent insulation. The reindeer has a type of heat exchanger in its legs, with the venous blood being heated up by the arterial blood in special vascular balls. The blood that comes from the hooves has been cooled down significantly, but is warmed up before it reaches the heart again. As a result, reindeer do not suffer from hypothermia. Reindeer also have plenty of blood vessels in their nostrils, which means that the air they breathe in is warmed up and that heat loss via the exhaled air is minimised. |
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How long is a reindeer's pregnancy?
The mating period lasts for around a month in September/October. A reindeer cow's pregnancy lasts for around 225 days, and the calf is born in May. The reindeer cow has antlers throughout her pregnancy, and only loses them after the calf has been born. |
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How much does a reindeer weigh?
A mountain reindeer bull (mountain reindeer husbandry) can weigh 100-150 kg immediately before the rutting season in September, and a reindeer cow can weigh 60 to 90 kg. A calf weighs 4-6 kg at birth in May, and 30-50 kg in the autumn. Forest reindeer bulls (forest reindeer husbandry) can weigh as much as around 180 kg. This difference in weight is due to the fact that forest reindeer husbandry is more stationary than mountain reindeer husbandry, and that the summer pasture in the forest is more nutritious. After many generations of semi-domestication, the forest reindeer (the reindeer in forest reindeer husbandry) has grown larger than its mountain relative, which undertakes long migrations between mountain and forest. |
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Why does the reindeer have antlers?
The reindeer belongs to the deer family Cervidae, and in this family the bulls tend to have antlers while the cows do not. The antlers are shed and grow back again every year. In the case of reindeer, however, both genders have antlers, and the calves grow antlers during their first summer. Reindeer bulls use their antlers to impress the reindeer cows and scare off other bulls during the rutting season (September/October). The reindeer bulls shed their antlers in November, at the end of the rutting season. Reindeer cows, on the other hand, retain their antlers during the winter. Using their antlers they can drive off much larger reindeer bulls from their pasture. The antlers provide the cows with a high status in the reindeer herd and are closely linked to pregnancy. The reindeer cows do not lose their antlers until they have given birth to their calves in May. New antlers grow during the spring, at which time they are covered with velvet. The velvet protects the growing antler and contains blood vessels. Both sexes clean their antlers immediately before the rutting season. |
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Why do reindeer's hooves click when they walk?
A clicking sound can be heard when reindeer walk. This is not the hooves knocking against each other, but rather a tendon insertion in the rear leg that slides over a bone and generates the clicking sound. The importance of this sound is uncertain, but it is possible that it makes it easier for the herd to stay together in the dark or in fog. The reindeer is a herd animal after all, and if a reindeer is frightened and starts to move, the other animals in the herd can hear the increase in the frequency of the clicks. |
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Why do reindeer migrate between different areas?
Most animals change biotope according to the seasons, for example lemmings, grouse and elks, not to mention all the migrating birds. Migration is quite simply a survival strategy and a way of making optimum use of nature's resources. The most important reason is that access to food varies with the seasons, and external conditions can also cause problems, such as cold, dryness, heat or insects. The mountain reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) is adapted to life in the mountains, in the tundra, where there are fewer irritating insects. It moves up to the patches of snow on hot summer days when there are large numbers of insects, before dropping down to graze in the valleys at night when it is cooler. During the winter, it migrates to the forested areas where it is easier to dig in the snow and where there is more reindeer lichen to graze on. The forest reindeer (the reindeer used in forest reindeer husbandry) also migrates between different areas during the year, but the distances it covers are not as long as those undertaken by the mountain reindeer. The forest reindeer uses open areas and boggy areas when there is no snow on the ground, and moves into dense fir forests when tormented by insects. During the winter, it grazes in the same areas as the mountain reindeer. |
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How long does the reindeer calf stay with the cow?
The reindeer calf is normally born in the middle of May, and suckles throughout the summer months. The milk is rich in both fat and protein, comprising 20-25% fat and having a protein content of 10%. The calf learns to eat the right plants from the cow. During the winter, the reindeer cow and the calf graze in the same area of pasture. A calf that has lost its mother may team up with an old reindeer bull, which in turn allows the calf to graze in its pasture. With its sharp antlers, a calf is also able to drive a bull that has lost its antlers away from its pasture.
Only when the cow is about to give birth to a new calf does she drive off her one-year-old calf. Among semi-domesticated reindeer, some cows are able to tolerate a yearling remaining nearby, and may allow it to stay with her and the new calf. In this way, some reindeer cows may occasionally form small, close-knit herds made up of old cows and a number of daughters. This phenomenon is not very common, however. |
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How can reindeer survive on Svalbard?
The Svalbard reindeer has the typical appearance of animals in cold areas: short legs, compact body, small ears. Its scientific name is Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus, and it is also known as the Spitsbergen reindeer. The Svalbard reindeer is more closely related to the Peary caribou (Rangifer t. pearyi), which is found in northern Canada and on the islands to the north (Nunavut), than to the mountain reindeer (Rangifer t. tarandus), which is found for example in Scandinavia and used in domesticated reindeer husbandry. In order to survive the winter, the Svalbard reindeer adds a thick layer of fat. The back and the rump can be covered with a layer of fat 10 cm thick, which the reindeer uses up during the winter when just about the only thing to eat is moss. There is no significant continuous plant cover on Svalbard, and not much lichen either. The Svalbard reindeer moves about very little during the winter, and it is not easily frightened as it has no natural enemies on the island. It is true that there are some polar bears, but they do not normally seem interested in eating reindeer meat. |
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