Antlers for all
Reindeer are the only deer in which the females grow antlers too.
Arctic tundra
Reindeer
Rangifer tarandus
A sturdy grey-brown deer with a pale neck. Both males and females grow antlers.
- Size
- About 1.2m at the shoulder
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Tundra and northern forest across the Arctic. Called caribou in North America
Trots after you, and breaks into a run. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Reindeer
Good to know
Six things about the reindeer
A warm nose
The nose warms the freezing air before it reaches the lungs. It is full of tiny blood vessels.
Eyes that change colour
Their eyes are gold in summer and turn blue in winter, which helps them to see in the dark months.
A long walk
Some herds travel 5,000 kilometres in a year, further than any other land mammal.
Clicking feet
A tendon in each foot clicks as it walks. It may help the herd keep together in a blizzard.
Reindeer moss
In winter they dig through snow for lichen, which few other animals can digest.
The real thing
Photos of the reindeer
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Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Britain has one free-living herd, in the Cairngorms in Scotland. In Norway, Sweden and Finland, herds wander across the open fells.
How to help
Wild reindeer need to move freely. Roads, pipelines and warmer winters all make that harder, so support groups that keep their routes open.
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