Richard W. O’Donnell
O YOU KNOW the names of Santa’s reindeer? Rudolph, mind you, is a
newcomer. We’re talking about the merry old soul’s eight original rein- deer. Think about it. And while you’re thinking about it, also think about the fact that you can’t escape reindeer during the holiday season. They’re everywhere! Herds of them! They are featured in television specials, radio commercials, and newspaper and magazine advertisements. They are honored in songs, and there is the holiday poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” in which they dominate several verses. (This particular poem is recited by countless parents to their children on Christmas Eve.) Believe it or not, there was even a reindeer postage stamp issued by the US Postal Service a few years back. But as popular as reindeer are during the holidays, once December is over, they seem to fade away into obscurity. All of which makes one wonder what these sleigh-pullers do the rest of the year. Well, for one thing, they pull sleighs—in Lapland, that is.
Reindeer Basics Lapland is a region in the extreme
north of Europe that lies above the Arctic Circle and includes Russia’s
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A reindeer in Lapland poses for a photo with two Sami dressed in traditional clothing.
PHOTO: ©DAVE G. HOUSER/CORBIS
Siberian Kola Peninsula and the northernmost parts of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Roughly the size of the state of California, Lapland is home to around 70,000 native Laplanders, who are called Sami, and around 500,000 reindeer.
Reindeer are large Arctic and sub- Arctic animals of the deer family and are known scientifically as Rangifer tarandus. This makes them the same species as the North American caribou; however, the two animals are from different subspecies and look slightly different. Reindeer, as well as
caribou, are distinguished from the rest of the deer family by the fact that both the males and females grow antlers. Reindeer also have much broader hooves than other members of the deer family (their unusually broad hooves act like snowshoes and help keep them on top of the snow in the winter), heavy muzzles, and dense grayish-brown and white coats that help insulate them during the harsh northern winters. Reindeer are also distinguished by the fact that unlike other sorts of deer, they annually become a celebrated part of the
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