Reindeer

Reindeer are the animal star of Christmas, despite its depictions being a misnomer.

Reindeer are a type of deer native to the northern mountainous, arctic and forest habitats of North America, Russia, and Europe, and the animals are also known as ‘caribous’, mainly in North America, although this term may be used only for wild herds in those areas.
The scientific name of a reindeer is Rangifer tarandus, and it is from the family Cervidae, the family of deer.
The antlers found on reindeer that shed every November in males and May in females are quite noteworthy, reaching lengths of up to 130 centimetres (51 inches) in males and 51 centimetres (20 inches) in females.
Reindeer are ruminants and have a diet that consists primarily of mosses and lichen, but also leaves, fungi and grasses, and they have an average lifespan of 12 to 18 years.
The length of a reindeer generally ranges between 1.6 to 2.1 metres (5.3 to 6.9 feet) and the mammal usually weighs between 60 to 240 kilograms (132 to 529 pounds) and up to as much as 320 kilograms (705 pounds).

Reindeer have two layers of fur coloured brown, tan, white or grey depending on the subspecies; an inner layer that is quite woolly and thick, and an outer layer, which is quite long and hairy, although these hair fibres are hollow, enabling them to swim more easily in water.
Depending on the subspecies, some reindeer travel more than any other land animal in the world, moving up to 5000 kilometres (3100 miles) each year for the purpose of migration, while they have a speed that can reach 80 kilometres per hour (50 miles per hour).
Predators often have difficulty catching reindeer due to their high speeds, dangerous antlers and tendency to live in large herds, although despite this, bears, wolves and humans still prey on the deer.
During warmer months, the hooves of reindeer are generally spongy to assist with walking across marshes, although in winter they become hard, to assist walking across formed ice.
Despite some subspecies of reindeer being scarce, the mammal is a popularly hunted for its prized antlers and meat, while some are domesticated and kept in herds.

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